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S E A K I N G S 


AND 


Naval Heroes 


^e Great 


Sea. Fights 


qf the World 


FROM 

Salamis. B.C. 480 to Santiago. A.D. 1 898 


BY 

HARTWELL JAMES 


\\ WITH 

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY- 
SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS 


PHILADELPHIA 


HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY 






'• .♦. ••- 



» • • 



3^7 



THE LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS, 
Two CoHita Received 

SEP. 25 1901 

/»COPVR|0HT ENTRY 

CLASS ^XXc. N». 
COPY B. 



Copyk:grt 1901 

BY 

HeN<Y Alte.mus 




CONTENTS 

[ntroductory 11 

The Battle of Salamis 13 

The Battle of Syracuse 21 

The Battle of Actium 25 

The Battle off the Meloria 30 

The Battle of Lepanto 35 

Sir Francis Drake 40 

The Great Armada 67 

5 



i 



6 CONTENTS 

Martin Harpertzoon Tromp 65 

Tromp and D'Oquendo 69 

Tromp and Blake off Dover 74 

Tromp and Blake off Portland 76 

Off the North Foreland..." 79 

Tromp and Monk off Holland •• 80 

Robert Blake 82 

Michael Adrianszoon De Ruyter 87 

The Dutch in the Medway 93 

In the Solebay '. 97 

John Paul Jones 104 

" Bon Homme Richard" and *' Serapis." 114 

Lord Richard Howe 124 

The Siege of Gibraltar 127 

Howe's Victory off Ushant. 132 

''Blanche" and"Pique." 137 

Sir John Jervis 141 

The Battle of Cape St. Vincent 146 

Adam Duncan • 152 

The Battle of Camperdown 155 

Horatio Nelson 160 

The Battle of the Nile 172 

"Leander" and ''Genereux." 180 

The Battle of Copenhagen 184 

The Battle of Trafalgar 191 

The Battle of Navarino 203 

"Monitor" and ''Merrimac" 208 

Opening the Mississippi 213 

''Kearsarge" and "Alabama." » 220 

In Mobile Bay 225 

The Battle of Lissa • - 230 

The Battle of the Yalu 235 

George Dewey 241 

The Battle in Manila Bay 245 

The Battle off Santiago - 252 



. ILLUSTRATIONS 

Frontispiece 

Grecian and Persian Galleys at Salamis 13 

The Disaster to the Persian Fleet 15 

Xerxes Viewing the Combat at Salamis 17 

The Grecian Fleet at the Battle of Salamis 19 

Destruction of Xerxes' Fleet 20 

"Friends and Foes Hopelessly Entangled." 21 

The Battle of Syracuse 23 

The Athenian Fleet Driven to the Shore 24 

" With Flashing Arms the Galleys Met Each Other." 25 

"The Huge Vessels were at last Destroyed by Fire." 27 

"Swept Away Their Opponent's Oars." 29 

"Hugged the Shore more Closely than Usual." 30 

Battle between Pisans and Saracen Corsairs 31 

Battle between Pisans and Genoese 33 

"Both Crews Fought with Desperation." 35 

The Battleof Lepanto 37 

Equestrian Statue of Don John of Austria 38 

"The 'Marquesa' Dashed into the Fight.". 39 

Watching for the Great Galleon -40 

Sir John Hawkins at San Juan d'Ulloa 41 

Sir Francis Drake 43 

" Drake Ordered His Men to Pick Up the Arrows." 47 

"We Entreated a Spaniard." 49 

"The Monarch was Received by Drake." 51 

"Singeing the King of Spain's Beard." 53 

"Drake was in the Thickest of the Fighting." 55 

"Drake Insisted that the Game be Played Out." 56 

" All Day the Englishmen Pounded the Galleons." 57 

Lord Howard of Effingham 59 

7 



8 ILLUSTRATIONS 

Destruction of the Spanish Armada 61 

Enghsh Fireships Attacking the Armada 63 

The Armada Driven on the Irish Coast CA 

"They Boarded the Spanish Ship." 65 

"Revenge My Father's Death ! " 67 

"Not a bit of it!" he Cried 68 

"The INIonster Spanish Ship Fought " 71 

Tromp's Victory over Blake off Dover 75 

Action off Portland . 77 

General and Admiral George Monk SI 

General and Admiral Robert Blake. 83 

Action between Blake and Tromp 81 

Prince Rupert. 85 

"Staring up at the Church Spire." 87 

"He got up There by the Ladder." 8'J 

Admiral De Ruy ter c 91 

The Dutch Fleet in the Medway 95 

De Witt and De Ruyter Consulting 96 

Destruction of the "Royal James." 99 

Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich 101 

Showing the Admiral's Letter 102 

The English Flagship.. 103 

"He Aimed a Gun at the Weakened Mast." 104 

Commodore John Paul Jones 105 

"Jones Raised the First Ensign." 107 

Facsimile of Jones' Commission 108 

Jones' Men Demanding Plunder 109 

Praying for Deliverance from the Cruiser 113 

The " Bon Homme Richard" and the " Serapis.''. 115 

Fighting on the Deck of the " Serapis." II7 

Capturing the Turkish Galleys 121 

Gold Medal Presented to Jones by Congress 123 

"The Action was at its Height." 124 

Lord Richard Howe 125 

Burning the Floating Batteries 129 



ILLUSTRATIONS 9 

"The Sailors Manned the Yards." 130 

Howe's Victory off Ushant 133 

"Twelve More or Less Dismasted Ships." 13G 

The "Blanche" Going Into Action 137 

The Death of Captain Faulkener 139 

Between Decks on a British Man-o'-War 140 

"Poured Broadsides into his Heavy Antagonist." 141 

Sir John Jervis 143 

"There is Your Money, Sir.'\ 145 

Nelson Boarding the " San Nicholas." 149 

Receiving the Sword of the Spanish Captain. 151 

"Saw Service on the African Coast" 152 

Admiral Adam Duncan 153 

Admiral Duncan Addressing His Crew 154 

Admiral Duncan's Victory at Camperdown. 157 

Admiral De Winter Resigning His Sword. 159 

"Feats of Daring and Perfect Seamanship." 100 

The Birthplace of Nelson 161 

Viscount Horatio Nelson 162 

Nelson's Adventure with the Bear 163 

Nelson Boarding the Prize I65 

A Race to the Masthead 167 

John Sykes Saving Nelson's Life • 169 

Nelson AVounded at Santa Cruz 171 

Nelson's Flagship, the "Vanguard." 173 

Nelson's Victory at the Nile 175 

The "LeTonnant" Dismasted 177 

The"Leander" and the " Genereux." 181 

Arrival of the Admiral's Guests 183 

The Battle of Copenhagen 187 

" He Affixed a Larger Seal than Usual." 189 

Blackwood and Hardy Witnessed the Entries 193 

The Battle of Trafalgar 195 

"They Have D«ne for Me at Last ! " < 197 

"Nut While I Live, I Hope, Hardy, — ' 201 



10 ILLUSTRATIONS 

Nelson Memorial at Windsor Castle 202 

British Naval Officers and Sailors 203 

The Battle of Navarino 205 

The "Monitor" and the "Merrimac." 208 

The "Merrimac" and the "Congress." 209 

Rear-Admiral John C. Worden 211 

Union Gunboat, 1862 213 

Admiral David G. Farragut 215 

The Union Fleet Passing the Forts 217 

Opening the Mississippi 219 

Muster on the " Kearsarge." 220 

Rear-Admiral John A. AVinslow 221 

The "Kearsarge" Sinking the "Alabama." 223 

In Mobile Bay 225 

"Farragut Stood in the Main Port Rigging " 227 

"Bows on at Full Speed." 229 

A Modern Ironclad- 230 

"Ram Everything Gray." 232 

The "Max" Ramming the "Re d'ltalia." 233 

Japanese Blue Jackets 235 

Admiral Ting 236 

Admiral Ito 237 

The "Chen Yuen" After the Battle 238 

The "Chen Yuen" at the Battle of the Yalu 239 

In Manila Bay 211 

Admiral George Dewey 213 

The Battle of Manila Bay 247 

Dewey on the Bridge of the " Olympia." 249 

The Dewey Medal 251 

Admiral Cervera's Fleet 252 

Stripping the " Merrimac." 253 

Lieut. Richmond P. Hobson 254 

Powell Patrolling the Mouth of the Harbor 255 

Destruction of Cervera's Fleet 257 

Rear-Admiral W. S. Schley 259 




INTRODUCTORY 



There is always a fascination about tales of combat 
on the sea, and the aim of this volume is to enable the 
youth of America to become easily familiar with fam- 
ous naval encounters and the lives and deeds of men 
who have won fame and renown upon the broad bosom 
of "Old Ocean." 

History tells us of battles between bodies of men in 
ships hundreds of years before the Christian Era. Men 
learned early to build ships and to fight in them, and 
these battles often influenced public events and 
changed dynasties. 

The Persian hordes sweep into Europe, and Xerxes 
watching the fortunes of his galleys at Salamis sees 
their utter rout, and tearing his royal robes in mortifi- 
cation retires from the scene humiliated; the dynasty 

11 



12 INTRODUCTORY. 

of the Ptolemies is extinguished by Antony's shameful 
defeat at Actium; Saracen and Christian grav;)le on 
the sunlit waters of the Mediterranean; and all llin'ope 
rejoices when the banner of the Prophet is torn from 
the galleys of the ''Unspeakable Turk" at Lepanto. 

Then Drake scours the seas and the Spaniard 
crosses himself at the very mention of his name; the 
Great Armada sails, and England rears a monument 
whereon we read : "He blew with His winds and they 
were scattered." 

England and Holland quarrel. Tromp sails along 
the British coast, a broom lashed to his masthead ; De 
Ruyter burns the ''Merry Monarch's" shipping in the 
Medway; again they meet, this time at Camperdown, 
and Holland is humiliated. 

Paul Jones fights the Scrapis under a radiant moon; 
and there is "Glorious Nelson" whose story is that of 
Cape St. Vincent, of The Nile, of Copenha.c^en of 
Trafalgar. 

There is a Civil War. Brother meets brother on sea 
as on land, and the Kcarsargc sinks the Alabama in a 
gigantic duel on the waves; Italy goes down before 
Austria at Lissa ; China and Japan make history at the 
Battle of the Yalu. 

The gray American ships steal by rocky Corregidor 
at night ; the echoes of their guns die away and not one 
ship is left to fly the red and yellow flag of Spain; a 
little later the torn and twisted hulls of Cervera's 
proud cruisers lie upon the rocky slwres of Cuba. 

These are the stories told for the instruction and en- 
tertainment of the boys and girls of America. 




Sea Kings -d Naval Heroes 

THE BATTLE OF SALAMIh^ 

(B. C. 480) 
GKEEKS AND PERSIANS 



FOUR hundred and eighty years before the birth 
of Christ, Xerxes the Great, smarting under 
the check the Persian legions had received, nine 
years before, on the plain of Marathon, set out to at- 
tempt the conquest of Greece. 

For years the most skilful artisans of the East had 
been engaged in preparing an immense armament, and 
the most ingenious artificers from all parts of the 

13 



14 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

Persian dominions were employed in fitting out the 
largest fleet that the ancient world had yet beheld. 

We are told that the vessels of war numbered fully 
twelve hundred ; that there were three thousand trans- 
ports to convey the soldiers and that when the mon- 
strous armament was in complete order, it comprised 
nearly five thousand ships and galleys, and an army of 
two millions of fighting men. So luxurious were the 
habits of the Asiatic commanders — Phoenician, Egyp- 
tian, Cyprian and others — that each required several 
slaves to carry their baggage and wait upon their per- 
sons. 

The Persian force was put in motion, and after the 
stubborn resistance of Leonidas and his Spartans at 
the Pass of Thermopylae Xerxes invested the city of 
Athens, and pillaged and burned it. The desperate 
valor of the Greeks, and the loss they inflicted on the 
Persian horde considerably dampened the ardor of the 
invaders, and was the beginning of Xerxes' misfor- 
tunes. 

While the military operations were proceeding, a 
terrific storm sprang up, and some four hundred of the 
Persian galleys were driven from their anchors and 
foundered, ^^'hen the storm abated, the remainder of 
the fleet abandoned their dangerous moorings and when 
order was restored, two hundred and fifty of the swift- 
est vessels were sent to engage the Grecian fleet. By 
some mischance they steered in an opposite direction, 
and then the wily Themistocles, the Athenian com- 
mander, induced Xerxes to offer battle in the narrow 
strait that separates the Island of Salamis from the 
mainland. 



THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS. 



15 



As the sun arose in all the splendor of a cloudless 
morn, the entire Persian host prostrated themselves in 
worship of the orb of day. The Greeks and their allies 
sacrificed to Jupiter and Neptune. The combat was 




The Disaster to the Persian Fleet. 



fought under the eyes of Xerxes himself, who sat upon 
a royal throne which had been planted for him on one 
of the rocky acclivities of the mainland, opposite the 
harbor w^iere the Grecian fleet lay. 



16 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

The signal for attack was given by Eurybiades, the 
Spartan admiral, and to the sound of trumpets his ves- 
sels were rowed towards their antagonists while the 
crews shouted the war-song to Apollo. 

The monstrous fleet of Xerxes came dashing through 
the water lashed into foam by the action of a myriad of 
oars. Forming themselves into a circle, the better to 
meet their foe, the Greeks and their allies avoided the 
shock of the Persian vessels, and driving their pointed 
prows into the unwieldy hulls of their antagonists, 
they clambered boldly on to the decks of the Persians, 
and by desperate fighting struck terror to their hearts. 
Soon the battle became general and the opposing ships 
were mingled in inextricable confusion. As Themis- 
tocles had foreseen, the Persian commanders soon 
found that in so confined a space their \'ery numbers 
were a source of weakness. With no room in which to 
manoeuvre, the Persian ships simply embarrassed one 
another. The Ionian ships serving under the Persian 
flag were very doubtful allies ; for the sailors feeling 
that they were Greeks themselves, fought with little 
animation against men of their own blood. The other 
contingents fought with great spirit ; but their efforts 
were in vain. The Asiatic fleet had been drawn up in 
triple line ; and when the first of these lines was broken 
and driven back, the remaining two were unable to ad- 
vance, while the land in their rear prevented a retreat. 

Soon, the crash of sinking ships, and the cries of 
drowned seamen were wafted to the ears of the Persian 
monarch, as he watched the desperate struggle. His 
squadrons were reduced to a helpless mass. Oars and 




The Ccmbiit was Fought Tnder the Eyes of Xerxes, Himself.' 



18 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

helms were splintered as the prows of the Grecian gal- 
leys were driven into their sides. Grappling irons were 
used to lock the opposing galleys in a deadly embrace ; 
movable gangways or planks afforded a sure footing 
to the boarders who sent a shower of javelins into the 
doomed ships. In the hand-to-hand struggle the flag- 
ship of Themistocles was sore beset, but the sharp beaks 
of the galleys that hastened to his assistance soon sank 
the splendid galley of Ariamenes, the opposing ad- 
miral. 

Artemisia, Queen of Halicarnassus, was one of the 
monarchs who accompanied Xerxes, and exhibited re- 
markable courage in the conduct of her ships. When 
the disorderly flight set in, she retreated with the rest, 
pursued by the Athenian Aminias, who did not know 
that the ship before him was that of the Carian queen, 
for whose capture as a traitress, the Athenians had of- 
fered a large reward. The ship of another Carian lay in 
her path ; she sank it with all its crew, and escaped into 
more open waters, where Aminias, taking the act as a 
sign of devotion to the Greeks, did not pursue her. A 
Persian courtier, believing that the vessel she had 
destroyed belonged to the Grecian fleet, said to Xerxes, 
"Seest thou. Master, how well Artemisia fights?" 

'*Yes," replied the king, ''my men behave like women, 
my women like men." 

Down through the strait the Athenian vessels drove 
the routed squadrons of the "Great King," while the 
sea was scattered with wrecks and with drowning men 
vainly endeavoring to preserve their lives. Xerxes, 
seeing the total rout of his vessels, and the hundreds 




19 



20 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



of his subjects who were struggling in the water, 
started from his throne, and tearing his robes in his 
grief and agitation, lied with his troops from the scene 
of disaster. 




Destruction of Xerxes' Fleet. 
The retiring ships were pursued as far as the Island 
of Andros, ^nd then the Grecian fleet returned to Sala- 
mis. Xerxes reached Sardis about eight months after 
he had started on an expedition which began w^ith the 
greatest splendor and seemed to promise the most tri- 
umphant results. He left Asia as a god, attended by the 
worship and acclamations of innumerable flatterers ; he 
returned to it a crestfallen and humiliated man. 




THE BATTLE OF SYRACUSE 

(B. C. 415) 
GREEKS AND SYRACUSANS 

THE overwhelming defeat of the Athenians at 
the naval battle of Syracuse, terminated the ex- 
istence of Greece as a naval power. The harbor 
of Syracuse is about five miles in circuit. Within that 
space were gathered nearly two hundred ships, the 
greater part of which belonged to the Athenians, one 
day, in the year 415 B. C. Athens had interfered in 
the affairs of a small Grecian Republic and had begun 
operations against its enemy, Syracuse. The Athenian 
fleet consisted of upwards of one hundred war galleys 
and a multitude of store-ships. ''A powerful force of 



^ o'ea Ki7igg. 



21 



22 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

the best heavy-armed infantry that Athens and her 
alHes could furnish was sent on board of it, together 
with a smaller number of slingers and bowmen. The 
zeal of the individuals vied with that of the republic 
in giving every galley the best possible crew, and every 
troop the most perfect accoutrements." All that pri- 
vate and public wealth could bestow was lavished on 
the splendor and effectiveness of the expedition." 

The commander-in-chief of the Greeks was Nicias 
and under him was Demosthenes (not the orator) who 
commanded the van of the fleet. At this time Greece 
was mistress of the seas, although her supremacy was 
on the wane. The contest about to take place was one 
on which much depended, and the larger part of the 
Athenian army was drawn up on shore to witness the 
engagement, while the walls and roofs of Syracuse 
were crowded with non-combatants eager to watch the 
progress of an action which was fraught with the most 
momentous consequences to themselves. 

The iron beaks of the opposing ships ground angrily 
together as the Grecian fleet fell upon the enemy who 
had drawn up their vessels at the mouth of the harbor. 
The noise mingled with the shouts of the combatants 
and the cheers or lamentations of the spectators. Both 
sides exhibited equal courage, and for a long time the 
battle waged without either gaining an advantage. 
Eventually the Syracusans won the battle. 

^'The manoeuvers of the ships were terribly shackled 
by a want of space, and the evil told against the Athen- 
ians, for the simple reason that theirs was the larger 
force. Friends and foes became hopelessly entangled; 




The Battle of Syracuse. 
"The Iron Beaks Ground Angrily Together.' 



24 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL -HEROES. 



the words of command were lost in the surrounding 
dissonance, and the battle degenerated into a scene of 
indiscriminate slaughter. The arrows and darts of the 
Athenians did less execution than the stones slung with 
admirable skill bv the Svracu^ans; and the former, giv- 




The Athenian Fleet Driven to the Shore, 
ing way to despair, turned the heads of their vessels 
towards the land, and fled in terror from their oppo- 
nents. Some of the Athenian soldiers rushed into the 
water to aid in saving the ships, but the case was be- 
yond hope. Nicias and Demosthenes were put to death 
in cold blood and their men either perished in Syra- 
cusan dungeons, or were sold i«nto slavery to the very 
persons, whom in their pride of power, they had cov- 
ered the seas to enslave." 




THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM 

(B. C. 31) 
ROME AGAINST EGYPT 

ANTONY and Octavius ruled the world after the 
battle of Philippi, which took place forty-two 
years before the Christian Era. For a time 
ihey lived in harmony, but both were men of great 
ambitions and soon drifted apart. Antony was given 
the government of several provinces, but fell into 
habits of luxury and vice. He deserted his wife, who 
was a sister of Octavius, for Cleopatra, Queen of 
Egypt, and at last Octavius sent an army and a fleet 
against him. 

In the famous battle of Actium which followed in 

25 



2P> SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

the year 31, B. C, Cleopatra with an Egyptian squad- 
ron accompanied Antony into the action, but took to 
flight when the fate of the battle was in doubt. The 
enemy hotly pursued her ships, but she succeeded in 
gaining the harbor of Alexandria. 

The fleets met near the promotory of Actium, on 
the west coast of Greece. Octavius had two hundred 
and sixty ships, or galleys, Antony had two hundred 
and twenty, besides Cleopatra's Egyptian fleet of sixty 
vessels. Shippen, an able and judicious writer, de- 
scribes the scene as grand in the extreme. 

'The flashing of arms, and glinting of the sun upon 
polished casques, the streaming flags, and thousands 
of oars simultaneously put in motion, gave life and 
animation ; while the blare of brazen trumpets and the 
shouts of the myriads of combatants were echoed from 
the shores by the cheers and cries of two large 
armies, each encouraging its own fleet, and inciting 
them to the greater exertion. 

''Cleopatra's large and magnificent galley hovered in 
the rear of the fleet, with the purple sails furled, and the 
poop occupied by herself and her ladies, surrounded by 
all the splendor of the Egyptian court." 

For several days the sea had been too rough to allow 
either fleet to offer battle, but at last the waters became 
smoother and with a quiet breeze the galleys of Antony 
stood out to sea, and a terrible battle began. For a long 
time neither side gained any decided advantage. The 
huge hulks that carried the fortunes of Antony hurled 
massive stones from their wooden towers, and grappled 
their assailants with ponderous irons. But they were 




2 

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28 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

too clumsy for manoeuvering, while the lighter galleys 
of Octavius, with their well trained rowers, were able 
to sweep away the banks of their opponent's oars under 
cover of a shower of arrows. 

One historian says, ''While the Antonian barges 
rolled heavily on the water, incapable of attacking their 
puny assailants, suddenly Cleopatra's galley, moored in 
the rear, hoisted sail, and threaded the maze of com- 
batants, followed by the Egyptian squadron of sixty 
vessels. Antony was not unprepared for the signal. He 
leapt into a boat and hastened after her. The shame 
and rage of his adherents filled them with despair. 
Many tore down their turrets and threw them into the 
sea, to lighten their decks for flight ; yet many con- 
tinued to fight recklessly or blindly. Too lofty to be 
scaled, too powerful to be run down, their huge ves- 
sels were at last destroyed by fire." 

So complete a victory as that of Octavius at Actium 
has seldom been won so easily. Antony and Cleopatra 
fled from Actium in the same vessel, and entered the 
harbor of Alexandria with laurels displayed on her deck. 
But the disaster could not be kept from the people of 
Cleopatra's own capital, who now gave her neither love 
or obedience. The wretched pair attempted to flee into 
Arabia, but the inhabitants of the Red Sea Coast de- 
stroyed their ships. An attempt to escape into Spain 
v/as considered, but abandoned. Then each began to 
negotiate separately with the victor. Antony, receiv- 
ing no encouragement from Octavius, gave himself a 
mortal wound, and Cleopatra after using all her bland- 
ishments upon Octavius only to learn that she was to 



THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM. 



29 



grace his triumph in Rome, perished by the bite of an 
asp, brought to her, it is said, in a basket of figs. She 
was found dead on her couch, with her two women 
weeping beside her, by an officer of Octavius. 

"Is this weh?" exclaimed the Roman. 

"It is well," replied one of the weeping women, "and 
worthy of the daughter of Kings." 

At the triumph of Octavius, her image was carried 
on a bier, the arms encircled by two serpents. The dyn- 
asty of the Ptolemies ceased to reign and Octavius was 
master of the world. 








THE BATTLE OFF THE MELORIA 

(A. D. 1241) 
PISANS AND GENOESE 

AS far back as the year 925, Pisa was the principal 
city of Tuscany. In 1005 the Pisans began to 
be nowerful at sea, and th.eir naval strength in- 
creased with e^'ery succeeding year. Carthage fell be- 
fore them in 1035, and 1063 ^^^^s a glorious year in 
their annals, for mindful of their former successes 
agfainst the Saracens, thev determined to measure their 
strength anew with that restless people. Palermo, in 
Sicily, at that time was held by the Mussulmans, and 
against them a powerful fleet was fitted out and des- 

30 




Battle Between Pisans and Saracen Corsairs. 



31 



32 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

patched. On their arrival at their destination, they 
made a bold dash at the port, broke the chain which 
was its sole protection, and proceeded to burn the ves- 
sels it contained. Seeing no chance to effect a landing, 
they pulled out of the port with numerous galleys, 
heavily laden, as their prizes. 

The period of the Crusaders brought increased riches 
and influence to Pisa, but the exploit which most 
raised the Pisans in the estimation of Europe was the 
expedition against the Balearic Isles, situated on the 
Spanish coast and peopled by Saracen corsairs. They 
first attacked the smallest of the islands which, though 
it appears to have been the weakest of the three princi- 
pal ones, occupied them ten days of repeated assault. 
Majorca, the largest island, was thenext point of attack 
and offered a stout resistance, but it was finally taken 
with great slaughter. Then the capture of Minorca, 
shortly after, crowned the undertaking with glory. 
The character and value of the booty taken cannot be 
enumerated. All the gold — the gems, the rich spoil of 
many years' piracy fell a prey to the conquerors ; while 
the fervor of the victory filled Christendom with joy. 
Later, a rivalry sprang up between Pisa and Genoa, an- 
other maritime republic, and their disputes began to be 
frequent and fierce. 

The year 1241 brought the Pisans and Genoese again 
into collision. Frederick II., the emperor, was engaged 
in hostilities with Rome, to which city the most eminent 
ecclesiastics of Christendom had been invited, to con- 
cert measures with the Pope to withstand the German 
power. As many eminent French prelates were to em- 



34 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

bark at Genoa, to reach their destination by sea, Fred- 
erick persuaded the Pisans to unite their forces with 
those from Sicily and attack the Genoese fleet on their 
voyage. The Pisans hesitated out of respect for the 
church, and even went so far as to dissuade their rivals 
from attempting- the passages ; but the Genoese, dis- 
daining the ad\'ice, though inferior in the number of 
their ships, which were crowded with helpless pas- 
sengers, set sail, and hugged the shores more 
closely than usual, as if in contempt of their adver- 
saries. 

But they soon paid dearly for this presumption. Not 
far from the Meloria, a ridge of rocks in sight of the 
present city of Leghorn, they were met, on May 3, 1241, 
by the Pisan fleet. A conflict ensued, the more terrible 
from the inability of many to take part in the affair, 
who yet were cut down in the sanguinary fight. The 
Genoese were completely worsted; nineteen of their 
galleys were taken, and three sank : four thousand pris- 
oners, comprising two cardinals and many inferior ec- 
clesiastics, were conveyed to Pisa in triumph ; the only 
distinction shown to the churchmen was their being 
bound with silver chains. 




THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO 

(A. I). 1571) 
SPAIN, VENICE AND ROME AGAINST TURKEY 

ON October 7, 1571, the Gulf of Lepanto was the 
scene of a great sea fight in which the naval 
power of Turkey was for the tinie being de- 
stroyed. Spain, Venice and Rome had formed a coali- 
tion to "make perpetual war" against the Turks, and 
also the Moors of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. A for- 
midable armament was provided, and the command of 
it was given to Don John of Austria, a youth in his 
twenty- fourth year, closely connected to the Spanish 

35 



36 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

king, a man of brilliant talents, amiable character and 
great popularity. 

The Christian victory was complete ; only a few ves- 
sels of the Turkish fleet escaping, while thirty-five thou- 
sand of their men were killed or captured, and fifteen 
thousand Christian galley slaves were set at liberty. 
Historians regard this battle as a decisive historic 
struggle between the West and the East, and record 
the joy with which it inspired all Christian Europe. 

Before going into battle every man on the Christian 
ships fell on his knees and prayed that success might 
be on their side. The fleet then advanced in three col- 
umns ; the Genoese Admiral, Doria, on the right; the 
centre commanded by Don John himself, the left by 
Barberigo, the Venetian admiral. The Spanish squad- 
ron under Marquis de Santa Cruz, was held in reserve. 

The Turkish fleet came on in magnificent array, 
gaudy with gilded prows and streaming pennons ; the 
flag of Ali Pasha, the Turkish commander, floating 
above a huge galley. They began cannonading and soon 
the vessels were passing each other, delivering terrible 
broadsides upon each other. Barberigo was wounded in 
the eye by an arrow ; Doria fought to prevent Uluch Ali 
from turning his flank, and succeeded. The Capifana, 
a great Maltese galley, was captured by the Turks, and 
several others were sunk. 

Don John singled out the galley of Ali Pasha and 
made for it at his best. The Turk did not disdain the 
encounter and the two vessels came together with a 
crash. Ali's ship over which the great Ottoman stand- 
ard was flying was much larger than that of Don John, 



THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO. 



J?7 



but both crews fought with desperation. The fight 
now became general ; even the rowers rising from their 
benches to join in the combat. Christians and Turks 




The Battie of Lepanto. 

met hand to hand and decks were sHppery with blood. 
At the third attempt, Don Juan succeeded in boarding 
his huge adversary; Ali was killed and the great 

Q ^'ea icings. 



Si. 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 




Eqaestrian Statue of Don John of Austria. 

banner of the Prophet was torn down and displayed on 
the Christian ships. This was the turning point in the 



THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO. 



39 



battle, and after four hours of terrific hand-to-hand 
fighting the remnants of the Turkish fleet retreated. 

Among the Venetian ships was the Marqucsa, and 
on board of her, sick with a fever, was a young man — 
Miguel de Cervantes, Vvho, in after life became the 
author of "Don Quixote." He left his sick bed to share 
in the fighting, and in command of twelve soldiers was 
given a post of great danger. His conduct was so 
brave that he attracted the attention of Don John him- 
self. The Marqucsa dashed into the fight and fell upon 
the galley of the commander of the right wing of the 
Turkish fleet. Five hundred men of her crew were 
killed before the Turk surrendered. Cervantes received 
two severe wounds in this engagement , one in the chest 
and one in the left hand which rendered it useless for 
life. 





SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

(A. D. 1540-1596) 

FRANCIS DRAKE, the famous admiral, was born 
near Tavistock, in Devonshire, England, about 
1540 according to most authorities. During 
his youth he was under the care of Sir John Hawkins, 
who educated the lad and then apprenticed him to the 
master of a coasting vessel. At eighteen years of age 
he was the purser of a ship, and two years later accom- 
panid Sir John Hawkins in one of his voyages to the 
African coast to procure negro slaves. 

On the homeward voyage Hawkins' little fleet of 
five small weather-beaten vessels put into the harbor of 
San Juan d'Ulloa for repairs, and while there was at- 
tacked by a heavy Spanish fleet which took three of 

40 




41 



42 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

their number and burned them after making prisoners 
of the crews. Drake was in command of the Judith 
and after fighting the Spaniards with the greatest of 
courage, managed to escape and after many hardships 
made his way back to England, as poor as when he set 
forth on the voyage. He had acquired the reputation of 
a fearless and gallant seaman, however, and soon ob- 
tained a privateering commission from Queen Eliza- 
beth. In 1570 he set sail for the Spanish Main and ob- 
tained much information regarding the Spanish settle- 
ments and cities. He then deliberately planned a voy- 
age that should indemnify him for former losses at the 
hands of the Spaniards, and in addition to this, he re- 
solved to humble the arrogance of the Spaniards, who 
claimed a monopoly of the seas. Still another motive 
entered into the composition of his plans ; he was a 
stern Puritan in religious beliefs and had a Puritan's 
hatred of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. 
English seamen had been burned by the Holy Inquisi- 
tion and others had met death in Spanish prisons and 
on Spanish galleys, and he longed to become their 
avenger. 

Drake sailed on May 29, 1572, in command of the 
Pasha of twenty tons and thtSzvan, of twenty-five tons : 
the former carrying a crew of forty-seven men and 
boys ; the latter manned by twenty-six souls. These 
tiny craft with their handful of men were in the lan- 
guage of the times, ''Richly furnished with victuals and 
apparel for a whole year; and no less beautifully pro- 
vided of all manner of munition, artillery, stuff, and 
tools that were requisite for such a man-of-war in such 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 



43 



an attempt, but especially having three dainty pinnaces, 
taken asunder all in pieces, and stowed aboard, to be 
set up as occasion served." He was afterwards joined 
by another vessel ; and with this small squadron he took 
and plundered 
the Spanish 
town of Nom- 
b r e de Dios. 
He then made 
his way to the 
I s t h m u s of 
Panama, cross- 
ed it, and from 
top of a ''good- 
ly and great 
high tree" ob- 
tained his first 
glimpse of the 
Pacific Ocean. 
He besought 
God to allow 
him to sail an 
English ship on 
the shining 
waters that lay 
before his 




eves. 



Sir Francis Drake. 



Tlien Drake descended, and with his men went down 
the road to Panama to capture the mule train bringing 
ingots and bars and coin for the coffers of the King of 
Spain. But the alarm had been given out and the treas- 



44 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

ure was withheld. The mules bore nothing more val- 
uable than provisions, and so Drake sacked the town, 
but obtained little from it by comparison. Then he dis- 
appeared. 

News came of him at sea, and then the mule-bells 
jingled merrily on the way to the treasure house at 
Nombre de Dios, for was not the terrible Drake at sea ? 
A band of soldiers and three trams loaded wit\ prodig- 
ious treasure, which had been accumulating, started, 
fearing nothing for Nombre de Dios. But the Span- 
iards breathed more freely when the landmarks told 
them the end of their journey was near. The bells gave 
warning to the watchmen at the gate. The Virgin be 
praised ! The Spaniard had outwitted the vaunted ad- 
venturer. The treasure was safe, and Drake was at 
sea. 

Crash ! Rattle ! Thud ! Bullets and arrows came sing- 
ing, whistling, crashing singly or in volley, into the 
train and their escort. The whistle of the English 
leader, the curses of the Spaniards, the prayers of the 
muleteers minoled with the silvery tones of the bells, 
The attack was too fierce for the escort. They fled 
and told within the city that Drake was again pillaging 
the treasure. 

Drake was forced to bury about half of the plunder, 
but he reached the shore with the remainder, and set 
sail for England, which he reached on August 9, 1573. 
His return with the wealth he had wrested from the 
Spaniard, added to his reputation and raised him high 
in popular esteem. At his own expense he then fitted 
out three ships and joined Essex's expedition to Ireland, 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 45 

and upon his return to England, a friend introduced 
him to Queen EHzabeth and procured him a favorable 
reception at Court. Soon the grand expedition that 
was to immortalize his name began to take shape. The 
Queen furnished him with money and Drake soon gath- 
ered a fleet of fine vessels, the united crews of which 
only numbered one hundred and sixty-six men. 
Drake's own ship was the Pelican of one hundred and 
twenty tons. She was armed with twenty brass and 
iron guns and in all respects w-as splendidly fitted up. 
As one chronicler said, ''Drake did not omit to make 
provision for ornament and delight ; carrying to this 
purpos'e wath him expert musicians, rich furniture (all 
the vessels for his tables, yea, many belonging to the 
workroom, being of pure silver,) with divers stores of 
all sorts of curious workmanship, whereby the civility 
and magnificence of his native country might, among'all 
nations whither he should come, be the more admired." 
He sailed on December 13, 1577. 

Drake found Spanish vessels to rifle and capture, 
early on his voyage. He then stretched across the At- 
lantic and reached the shore of America in April, 1578. 
After putting to sea again, one of his ships w^as lost, 
but he held on, stopping and trading with the natives 
on his way, until after seeing no land for fifty-nine 
days he reached the coast of Brazil. 

Some natives were seen to whom they made a signal 
by hoisting a white cloth, w^hich they answered by ges- 
tures and speech, but kept at a distance. A violent 
storm had reparated his ships, so Drake waited a while 
to give his consorts a chance to join him. They did not 



46 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

appear, and Winter was sent to find them. He found 
the Sii'an and brought her in. A Httle later the Httle 
fleet anchored in Port St. Juhan. Here by a fooHsh 
trial of skill with bows and arrows, Drake lost two of 
his most valuable men. Robert Winter, partly in sport, 
and partly to show his English skill, iDroke his bow 
while pulling the string, and while he was busy fixing 
it again, some natives shot at him, and wounded him in 
the shoulder and lungs. On this, the gunner, Oliver, 
took aim at them with his musket, but it missed fire, and 
he was slain outright by an arrow. Winter died at the 
end of two days, and l3oth the men were buried with 
military honors, in one grave. 

None of the party would have escaped if it had not 
been for the coolness of Drake. He ordered his men to 
elude as much as possible the aim of their enemies, and 
to pick up and break the arrows as they fell, he himself 
setting the example, and this they did with so much 
diligence that the savages soon became short of arrows. 
Then he took a musket, and killed the one who began 
the quarrel on the spot. While here, Drake organized a 
court-martial and tried Doughty, his second in com- 
mand, for mutiny. The court adjudged him guilty and 
he was beheaded. 

Drake sailed from Port St. Julian with his fleet re- 
duced to three ships, and on August 20 came to the 
mouth of the Straits of Magellan. Here Drake changed 
the name of his ship the Pelican, to the Golden Hind. 

'The fruits of the voyage were now about to com- 
mence. No Englishman had as yet passed Magellan's 
Straits — Cape Horn was unknown. Tierra del Fuego 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 



47 



was supposed to be part of a solid continent which 
stretched unbroken to the Antarctic Pole. A single 
narrow channel was the only access to the Pacific then 
believed to exist. There were no charts, no records of 
past experiences. It was known that Magellan had 




"Drake Ordered His Men to Pick Up and Break the Arrows." 

gone through, but that was all. It was the wildest and 
worst season of the year, and the vessels in which the 
attempt was to be made were cockleshells." But Drake 
was not to be daunted. He entered the straits and 
when near the western extremity landed on "a large 



48 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

and fruitful island" which he named Elizabeth in honor 
of the Queen. He found there ''many fruitful valleys, 
full of grass, and herds of very strange creatures feed- 
ing." 

The passage of the straits was a memorable event, 
Drake having been the second person who accomplished 
it. Violent storms reduced the little fleet to one. The 
Golden Hind was now left completely alone and with 
a reduced crew, another storm arose, and the vessel 
was driven to the very southern extremity of the Amer- 
ican continent, and thus Drake was the first to discover 
Cape Horn. After a time the storm abated, and en- 
abled Drake to proceed northward. He soon fell in 
with a Spanish ship from wdiich he took a quantity of 
gold and other valuables. At Tarapaca, according to 
one historian, he captured silver in bars to the value of 
four hundred thousand ducats, in a single afternoon. 
Boldly entering the harbor of Callao, Drake rifled 
seventeen Spanish ships of everything they had of value 
that was easy of removal, and then turned them adrift. 
He then learned that a great treasure-ship, the Caca- 
fuego had sailed shortly before for Panama. Promis- 
ing a gold chain to the man who first sighted the 
coveted ship, Drake started in pursuit. Soon, he met 
a brigantine from whom he took eighty pounds of pure 
gold and a large crucifix studded with emeralds as large 
as pigeons' eggs. 

Drake refitted and provisioned the Golden Hind at 
the port of Angapulea, and then kept on his way to the 
north, ''not forgetting" as the old narrative has it, "to 
take with us a certain pot (of about a bushd in big- 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 



49 



nesse) full of ryalls of plate, which we found in the 
towne, together with a chain of gold and some other 
jewels, which we entreated a gentleman Spaniard to 
leave behind 
him 



as he 
was flying 
out of the 
towne." Off 
Quito, the 
look-out on 
the Golden 
Hind d e s- 
cried the Ca- 
c a f u e g o, 
which un- 
s u spiciously 
s 1 a ck e n e d 
sail and 
waited for 
the a p - 
proa c h i n g 
vessel. When 
within a ca- 



ble's length 
of the Span- 
iard, Drake 
poured a 




We Entreated a Spaniard." 



broadside into the galleon ; her main mast went by the 
board and a shower of arrows swept her decks : her 
commander was wounded and in a few moments the 
Englishmen boarded and took possession of the ship. 



50 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

The treasures on board were so rich that the vahie 
always remained a secret between Drake and the crew. 
It is probably not an exaggeration to place it at five 
million dollars of our money. 

The great Spanish galleon returned to Callao, and 
Drake kept on his way, thinking to discover a route 
home by the north-east. He kept on up the coast of 
Mexico and landed in what is now Lower California. 
On his way many rich prizes fell into his hands. He 
now changed his course, and after many days sighted 
the group of islands now called the Philippines. Here 
he anchored and watered his ships, and then sailed to 
Ternate, the capital of the Moluccas. On anchoring at 
this city, Drake sent a message with a velvet cloak for 
the king, and soon that monarch came off to the ship 
and was received by Drake in great state, himself and 
all his officers being dressed in their richest clothing, 
guns firing and trumpets sounding. 

With his ship well provisioned and watered, Drake 
took leave of the king and threaded his way among the 
rocks and shoals of those seas. All went well until 
one night when the Golden Hind struck upon a reef 
and stayed there. Fortunately at low water, as the ship 
fell over on one side, she slipped off from the reef and 
floated in deep water. From that time the voyage was 
prosperous, and on September 26, 1580. *Sve safely, 
with joyful minds and thankful hearts to God, arrived 
at Plymouth, the place of our first setting forth, after 
we had spent two years, ten months, and some odd days 
beside, in seeing the wonders of the Lord in the deep, 
in discovering so many admirable things, in going 




The Monarch Was Received by Drake iu Great State." 

51 



52 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

through with so many strange adventures, in escaping 
out of so many dangers, and overcoming so many diffi- 
cuhies, in this our encompassing of this nether globe, 
and passing round about the world." 

From Plymouth, Drake took the Golden Hind to 
Deptford, and there Queen Elizabeth went on board his 
ship, partook of a banquet and conferred upon him the 
honor of knighthood. She also gave directions for the 
preservation of his ship that it might remain a monu- 
ment of his own and his country's glory. After the 
lapse of about a hundred years it became so decayed 
that it was broken up. A chair was made out of the 
sound timber and presented to the University of Ox- 
ford by Charles II. 

In 1585 Drake sailed for the West Indies with a fleet 
and took several Spanish cities. Two years later, with 
thirty ships he sailed for the coast of Spain, and in the 
bay of Cadiz plundered and burned scores of Spanish 
ships — a feat which he called "singeing the King of 
Spain's beard." 

On the afternoon of July 19, 1588, there was gath- 
ered together at the bowling green on the bold, rocky 
ridge known as Plymouth Hoe, a group of sea-cap- 
tains the like of which the world had never seen before. 
Drake, whose very name was a terror on every Span- 
ish coast in the Old World and in the New was there, 
and with him were Lord Howard, the High-Admiral 
of England, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Martin Frobisher 
and other high ofificers of the fleet. Out in the sound 
lay the English fleet waiting for the Great Armada to 







a 
3 



1 Aeit Kniga 



53 



54 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

come in sight, or until news was brought by one of 
the many vessels which were watching along the coast. 

A match at bowls, one of the oldest of English pas- 
times, was being played, and in the middle of the game 
an armed vessel was seen to be making its way into 
Plymouth harbor with all sails set. The captain of the 
ship landed in great haste and told the English officers 
that he had that morning seen the Spanish fleet off the 
Cornish coast. The news created great excitement 
and the captains began at once to hurry down to the 
water, shouting for their boats. But Drake would not 
have it so. He coolly checked his comrades and in- 
sisted that the game should be played out, saying : 

''There's plenty of time to win this game and to 
thrash the Spaniards too." 

The match was resumed, and when it was finished, 
Drake and his companions embarked- on their ships to 
begin the fight on the morrow. When the English 
ships met the Great Armada, Drake was in the thickest 
of the fighting. One of his prizes was a large galleon 
commanded by Don Pedro de Valdez, who yielded on 
the bare mention of his name. 

In 1589, the war with Spain continuing, Drake com- 
manded the fleet sent to restore Don Antonio, King of 
Portugal, but owing to differences between the vari- 
ous commanders, the object w^as not accomplished. In 
1590 he devoted himself to civil engineering. He con- 
tracted with the town of Plymouth to supply it with 
water w^hich he brought from a distance of nearly 
twenty-five miles. The following year he built six 




Destruction of the Spanish Armada. 
*' Drake Was in the Thickest of the Fighting. 



55 



56 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



mills for grinding corn. In 1593 he represented Plym- 
outh in Parliament. 

In 1594 Drake and Hawkins fitted out a formidable 
expedition against the Spanish settlements in the West 
Indies, but very little came of it. Drake felt the re- 




"Drake Insisted that the Game Should be Played Out." 

verses that befel the expedition very keenly and this 
was the principal cause of his death which took place 
on his own ship off Porto Bello, on January 28, 1 596. 
A fine statue on Plymouth Hoe has been raised to the 
memory of the great admiral. 




THE GREAT ARMADA 

(A. D. 1588) 
ENGLAND AND SPAIN 



DURING the reign of Queen Elizabeth of Eng- 
land, Philip 11. of Spain formed the project to 
unite in a universal monarchy the other states 
of Europe. He also desired to strike a decisive blow at 
the Protestant faith, of which England was the bal- 
wark. Besides, England had been his active, persever- 
ing, and successful enemy. She had plundered his col- 
onies, inflicted ignominious defeat on his squadrons, 
captured his cities and burned his arsenals. Personal as 
well as political revenge urged him to attack this 

57 



58 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

power ; the renown of his troops was high and his fleet 
was more numerous and better appointed than 
that of any other European state. He made his 
preparations carefully and was ready to attack in 1587, 
but Sir Francis Drake, Vice-Admiral of Eng- 
land, made a bold dash into the harbor of Cadiz and 
destroyed nearly a hundred ships with immense stores 
of provisions. Then the death of the Marquis of Santa 
Cruz, an experienced sailor and commander-in-chief of 
the Spanish forces was another blow to the cause, but 
at length a huge armament was gatnered with the Duke 
of Medina Sidonia as admiral. 

The Lord High Admiral of England was Lord 
Howard of Effingham and with him were such men as 
Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman to sail around 
the world; Sir John Hawkins, the rough veteran of 
many a daring voyage and desperate battle, and Sir 
Martin Frobisher, one of the earliest explorers of the 
Arctic seas. Sir Walter Raleigh, too, was there, and 
many other brave men and skilful mariners. England 
had not been idle, ^^^ith intense enthusiasm the people 
gladly furnished ships and stores, and raised troops to 
defend the coasts. The royal navy was increased by 
the addition of privateers and merchantmen to about 
one hundred and eighty vessels carrying about eigh- 
teen thousand sailors. This artillery, however, was 
only half the weight of the Spanish guns. 

The 'Tnvincible Armada" as the Spaniards called it, 
membered one hundred and fifty large vessels, nearly 
twenty thousand soldiers, upwards of eight thousand 
sailors, nearly twenty-five thousand slaves as rowers. 



THE GREAT ARMADA. 



59 



and carried two thousand four hundred and thirty-one 
cannon. This great fleet sailed from Lisbon on May 29, 




Lord Howard of Effingham. 

1588, but a severe storm shattered a number of the 
ships and compelled them all to put into the port of 
Corunna for repairs. It was on July 12, that the great 



60 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

expedition finally sailed from Spain. In the words of 
an eminent historian, ''The scene as the fleet passed out 
of the harbor must have been singularly beautiful. It 
was a treacherous interval of real summer. The early 
sunrise was lighting the long chain of the Galician 
mountains, marking with shadows the cleft defiles, and 
shining softly on the white walls and vineyards of Cor- 
unna. The wind was light, and falling towards a 
calm ; the great galleons drifted slowly with the tide on 
the purple water, the long streamers trailing from the 
trucks, the red crosses, the emblem of the crusade, 
showing bright upon the hanging sails. The fruit- 
boats were bringing off the last fresh supplies, and the 
pinnaces hastened to the ships with the last loiterers 
on shore. Out of thirty thousand men who that morn- 
ing stood upon the decks of the proud Armada, twenty 
thousand and more were never again to see the hills of 
Spain. Of the remnant who in two short months crept 
back ragged and torn, all but a few hundreds returned 
only to die." 

Seven days later, the beacon-lights along the coast of 
England gave warning of the approach of the enemy, 
and on the following day the Armada, in tl-e form of 
a crescent measuring seven miles from tip to tip swept 
up the English channel. Plymouth was passed towards 
evening, and during the night a part of the English 
ships glided out of the sound and got behind the stately 
Spanish ships. The action began on July 20. Lord 
Howard in his ship swept along the Spanish array, 
knocking out spars and rigging with his well delivered 
broadsides. The English ships were light and admir- 



62 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

ably handled, manoeuvering with ease and inflicting 
frightful injuries upon the "moving castles." The 
Spanish guns were worked slowly and the English 
ships were seldom hit ; but the fire of the English vessels 
was rapid and deadly. All day the fleet Englishmen 
pounded the "high-towered, broad-bowed" galleons 
and then the Spanish Admiral signalled to the fleet to 
stand up the channel. On they went, with the ships of 
England hanging on their rear. A stormy night settled 
down and threw the tall Spaniards into confusion. 
Drake captured one; another was wrecked by an ex- 
plosion. All the next week the running fight contin- 
ued and then the Spaniards anchored m the roads of 
Calais, and sent for help to the Prince of Parma, but he 
declined to afford any assistance. 

At this time. Lord Howard determined to drive the 
Spanish ships into the open sea and prepared eight fire- 
ships for that purpose. \Mien things were ready they 
were fired and allowed to drift down with the tide. 
Taken by surprise, the Spaniards cut their cables and 
left the shore. Soon they were scattered far and wide 
and then Drake attacked them, driving them together in 
a confused mass. If his ammunition had not become 
exhausted he would probably have driven them upon 
the shore of Flanders, but as it was, he inflicted enor- 
mous injuries in that one day's fighting. The next day, 
the disheartened Spaniards held a council of war and 
resolved to return to Spain by the North Sea, rather 
than to face Drake and the English fleet. Many of 
their ships were disabled and four thousand men had 
been killed. With Drake and Howard pursuing them 



64 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



they faced the dangers of the North Sea. Continuous 
gales shattered their unseaworthy vessels and drove 
them on the rocks of Scotland and the wild Irish coast. 
Soon the shores were strewn with wrecks and hundreds 
who escaped the sea were killed l^y the Irish. 




The Armada Driven on the Irisli Coast. 



Philip was unwilling to give honor to his enemies, 
but said : ''I sent my ships against men, not against the 
seas." England recognized the hand of Providence in 
the storm that drove the Spanish ships on the rocks of 
Scotland and Ireland, and on the monument erected in 
1888 on Plymouth Hoe, called the Armada Memorial 
are inscribed the words : 

"He blew with His winds, and thev were scattered." 




MAETIN HAEPERTZOON TEOMP 

(A. D. 1597-1653) 

ADMIRAL TROMP was born at Bridle, South 
Holland, in 1597. His father was an officer 
in the Dutch navy and took his son to sea be- 
fore he was nine years old. In 1606 he took part in the 
expedition to Gibraltar in which the Spanish fleet was 
destroyed and although he must have known that there 
was great danger, he took the boy with him, and as 
Martin had witnessed several small fights at sea he was 
delighted to go along. Before the battle he told Mar- 
tin to remain in the cabin, and the boy obeyed, but 
when the cannon thundered, and the ship creaked and 
trembled in every plank, and the cabin became full of 
sulphurous smoke, Martin could stand it no longer 

65 



66 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

and flew on deck to his father, just in time to see him 
fall, covered with blood. 

At first the boy wept and threw himself on the life- 
less body, but soon a fierce spirit took possession of 
him. His eyes flamed with anger though his face was 
still wet with tears. Running to the first officer, and 
pointing to the Spanish vessel with which they were 
engaged he exclaimed : 

"Will you not revenge my father's death?" 

The sailors had been somewhat disheartened by the 
death of their commander, but when they heard the 
words of the boy they renewed the fight with great 
vigor, boarded the Spanish ship and destroyed it. 

From such a beginning, -cit is no wonder Tromp 
stayed in the navy and climbed from the lowest post, 
gaining a knowledge as he went along of every detail 
in a sailor's life. At the age of twenty-five he was a 
lieutenant, and two years later was made the captain 
of a frigate. He was now on the road to fame and 
fortune, but he continued to work and study. He 
served under several famous admirals and at last rose 
to be Admiral of Holland. 

In 1639 an immense Spanish fleet sailed on an ex- 
pedition against Holland. It consisted of sixty-seven 
men-of-war, and since the days of the Great Armada 
no such fleet had been on the high seas. It carried in 
all nearly two thousand guns and twenty-four thou- 
sand men. One of the ships, the Mater Teresa was the 
largest vessel that had ever been seen ; it carried sev- 
enty guns and twelve hundred men. 

As opposed to this formidable array, Tron p's force 



ADMIRAL TROMP. 



67 



was almost laughable. He had thirteen ships and when 
he was joined by De Witt and Bancquert their joint 
forces were 
only thirty- 
one ships and 
not more 
than two 
thousand five 
h u n d r e d 
men. But the 
Dutch d i d 
not seem to 
be a t - a 11 
afraid. They 
knew what 
Tromp and 
De Witt had 
done before 
and relied 
upon them to 
pull through 
all right. 

The white 
sails of the 
Spaniards 
spread over 
a distance of 

several miles , , _ , , _ 

^, " Revenge My Father's Death!" 

on the morn- ^ -^ 

ing when De W^itt came on board Tromp' s ship wdiere 

the captains were assembled. Tromp began to speak 

of prudence, but De Witt would not hear of it. 




68 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



''Not a bit of it," he cried in his impetuous manner; 
''there is room at the bottom for them all, and the 

sooner we 
begin to send 
them there 
the better." 

The plan 
of battle was 
soon ar- 
ranged a n d 
then the cap- 
tains were 
rowed to 
their o w n 
ships. Tromp 
ran close to 
the Spanish 
admiral and 
gave him a 
broad side 
which was 
the signal for 
a general en- 
gage m e n t. 
The Dutch 
worked their 
ships so well 
that the 
S p aniards 
tacked about 
coast, getting 

OSS 




"Not a Bit of It," He Cried. 

and turned towards the English 

under shelter of the castle of Dover with the 



ADMIRAL TROMP. 



of two ships. Tromp held him there sending De 
Witt home for reinforcements, while he found time 
himself to run over to Calais and buy forty thousand 
pounds of powder and four thousand cannon balls. 



TROMP AND D'OQUENDO 

(A. I). 1()39) 
DUTCH AND SPANISH 

T ROMP'S opponent w^as Admiral D'Oquendo, a 
famous naval commander, and one w^hose name 
has always been preserved in the Spanish navy. 
A splendid cruiser bearing his name was one of the 
Spanish ships destroyed by Rear-Admiral Schley dur- 
ing hostilities between the United States and Spain in 
1898. 

When Tromp returned to his fleet he found that 
the English Admiral, Sir John Pennington, had come 
out with some thirty well-armed ships to see what was 
going on. Salutes were exchanged and then Tromp 
paid Pennington a visit. 

"What are you doing here with such a large fleet, 
Admiral Tromp?" asked Pennington. 

''I am looking after my enemy, who has taken shel- 
ter under your guns, Sir John," replied Tromp. 

r; Sea Kings. 



70 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

''But you must use no violence in these waters and 
in sight of these shores," continued the EngHsh Ad- 
miral. 

"You need not fear that we shall use any violence to 
you. Sir John." 

''Mind what you are about. Admiral," said Penn- 
ington, "for I have the King's commands to help who- 
ever is attacked first." 

Tromp was perplexed. He did not want to bring 
about a war with England, and yet he was determined 
to fight D'Oquendo ; so he remained in spite of all the 
efforts of Pennington to induce him to depart. Mean- 
while, his government built ship after ship and sent 
them to him until his fleet numbered over one hun- 
dred vessels. The English were clearly in sympathy 
with the Spaniards and piloted some of their ships out 
to sea. Tromp simply waited, and when Pennington 
told him that it would be much nobler on his part to 
run out to sea and wait for his enemy there, he replied 
that he would like nothing better if D'Oquendo would 
do the same. Pennington talked it over with 
D'Oquendo and then reported to Tromp that the Span- 
iard would have gone out long ago but that he had no 
powder. Tromp sent back word that he might have 
half of his. Then D'Oquendo said that it was not 
only powder that he wanted ; he had no masts and 
booms for his ships. 

"There is no need to wait," replied Tromp, "I have 
enough for both. Here is a whole ship load of my 
masts and you are welcome to them if you will only 
come out and fight." 




71 



72 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

Weeks passed; the predicament of the Spanish fleet 
was the laughing-stock of Europe, and all Pennington 
could do was to report to Tromp that he would fight 
the fleet that fired the first shot. Tromp planned and 
planned to induce the Spaniard to attack him, and one 
day he got his ship in good condition and sailed right 
through the Spanish fleet. This made the Spaniards 
angry and they fired at him, but all the damage they 
did was to make a hole in one of the sails. Then they 
fired again and killed a Dutch sailor. Tromp sent the 
body of the man on board Pennington's ship and 
wrote him a letter saying: ''You see they have begun. 
They have fired the first shot at us, and by rights you 
ought to attack them. But if you will keep perfectly 
neutral I will manage the business all by myself." 

The battle began at sunrise the next day. Tromp had 
very much lighter ships than his adversary, and was 
inferior to him in guns and soldiers. Pennington re- 
mained neutral and looked on with amazement. 
Tromp divided his fleet into six squadrons and at- 
tacked the Spanish on all sides throwing their huge, 
clumsy ships into confusion and then pounding them 
with shot. The monster Spanish ship. Mater Teresa 
fought with three Dutchmen and only succumbed when 
set fire to by a fire-ship. A thousand men were on 
her decks begging for mercy. Then the powder on 
board exploded. ''The sight was awful and horrible. 
Out of one thousand not two hundred were saved. 
The others were hurled half-charred into the water, 
or blown to pieces in the air. Never did the heavens 
re-echo a more frightful crash. The guns were hurled 



ADMIRAL TROMP. 73 

red-hot into the air; and, in the darkness, the flames 
looked as if hell itself had opened his jaws." 

Eleven ships of Spain surrendered without firing a 
shot ; some were stranded ; others ran ashore. 
D'Oquendo got away to sea with twelve ships, but 
Tromp followed him and captured three of them. For 
weeks, crushed timbers and shivered beams ; chests of 
treasure and mangled bodies were cast upon the Eng- 
lish and French shores. 

Tromp was loaded with honors upon his return 
home, and one of the results of his victory was to 
place the Repul^lic of the Netherlands in a position 
equal to that of England and France. 

Tromp was at Dover in 1642 at a time when King 
Charles L was visiting that city, and was complimented 
by that monarch who also bestowed on him the honor 
of knighthood. Ten years later, the cordiality and 
good understanding that had existed between the two 
countries was torn asunder and in May, 1652, their 
fleets met in combat, and the Dutch had rather the 
worst of it. In the following November, Tromp again 
encountered Blake in the Strait of Dover, this time 
successfully. 



TROMP AND BLAKE OFF DOVER 

( A. D. 1652) 
DUTCH AND ENGLISH 



A 



DMIRAL ROBERT BLAKE commanded the 
English fleet, with his flag hoisted on the Tri- 
uiiiph, and with him was A-dmiral Wihiam 
Penn, the father of Wihiam Penn the Quaker and 
founder of Pennsylvania. He commanded the 
Speaker. On the afternoon of December 9, the bat- 
tle began. Tromp exchanged a broadside with Blake, 
and then fell upon the Garland, boring a hole into 
her stern with his bowsprit. Eversten, the Dutch 
Vice- Admiral engaged the Adventure, and for more 
than an hour the four ships fought in the blind- 
ing smoke, tossed hither and thither by the waves. 
The Garland surrendered after nearly all her officers 
had been killed, andEvertsen captured the Adventure. 
Blake's captains fought o-allantly but his fleet would 
have been destroyed if night had net fallen upon the 
scene. In his own words, ''by occasion of the night 
■coming on we were saved, be'ng then left almost 
alone." He reached Dover in a sadly disabled condi- 
tion, having had three of hi-^ sh-'ps sunk and one 
burned, besides the two that were captured. His loss 
in killed and wounded was very large. 
74 



TROMP AND BLAKE. 



75 



Tromp was very proud of his victory over Blake 
and wanted to sail up the Thames where the remnant of 
the English fleet had gone for shelter, but for want 




Tromp' s Victory over Blake off Dover. 

of pilots the plan was given up. It is said that after 
his victory Tromp sailed up and down the English 
Channel with a broom fixed at his masthead, to show 
that he had swept his "enemies from the sea. 



76 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

During the battle, one of Tromp's sailors hurried 
past him with a bag of powder, and not recognizing 
the Admiral, called to him to get out of the way, em- 
phasizing the remark with a box on the ear that nearly 
knocked him down. Tromp made no reply, but after 
the battle was over he sent for the sailor, who remem- 
bered striking some one. "You need not be afraid 
my son," said Tromp, ''for you did your duty. Never 
allow any man to interfere in the execution of your 
orders. But next time you hit, don't hit so hard." 
Then he promoted the sailor. 



TROMP AND BLAKE OFF PORTLAND 

(A. I). 1058) 
ENGLISH AND DUTCH 

ON February t8, 1653, Tromp and Blake met 
again, while the Dutch Admiral was convoying 
a fleet of m.erchantmen. Tromp was in the Brc- 
dcrode, and Blake in his old ship, the Triumph. The 
fight lasted all day with great fury. For miles 
the sea was covered with ships fighting in groups 
of three or four as well as in pairs. One Dutch 
captain rammed an English ship and friend and 
foe went down together. Another was on the 
point of blowing up his own vessel when a 




JO 
o 

a 

o 



^ 



77 



78 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

friend came up. His ship was sinking and in despair 
he boarded the nearest Enghsh vessel and took it, only 
to lose it to another Englishman. Then with his men 
he took refuge on his friend's ship, wdiile his own 
sank to the bottom. Tromp's marvelous ability as a 
seaman enabled him to save all the merchantmen that 
day, and after night came on a council of war was held 
on his ship. The next day the fight was renewed. Six 
times Blake attempted to break the Dutch line, and 
was as often foiled, and so the day wore on. Still 
protecting the merchant fleet, Tromp fought on and 
on. Half of his ships were now without ammunition 
and several detached themselves from the fleet and 
set sail for home. Like a flash, Tromp headed them 
off and gave them a broadside. This brought them to 
their senses and they returned. 

The final attack of the English was in the after- 
noon. Tromp met it boldly, but the shock was ter- 
rific and many Dutch ships went down before the 
superior numbers of the foe. Most of those that re- 
mained were only kept afloat by pumping and there 
was scarcely a shot left. A few of the merchantmen 
were captured, but the bulk of the fleet was saved. 
By midnight the English had disappeared and the 
Dutch fleet limped heavily to the Meuse. Tromp had 
the w^orst of this running fight. 



OFF THE NORTH FORELAND 

(A. D. 1653) 
ENGLISH AND DUTCH 

THE fleets of England and Holland grappled again 
on June 2, 1653. The number of their ships was 
equal, but the English had larger guns and more 
of them.' The Dutch were short of provisions, men and 
ammunition — the fault of the government. Tromp 
fought w^ith indomitable courage. He had abandoned 
all hope of victory, but he determined to die hard. He 
carried the quarterdeck of the English Vice- Admiral, 
Penn, but thirteen English ships came to the rescue. 
Their crews swarmed on Tromp' s deck, and forced 
his crew below. Tromp dragged two small barrels of 
gunpowder to the centre of the middle deck and set 
fire to them. Half the upper deck, filled w^ith English 
sailors was blown away; the other half was burning. 
Two of the Dutch admirals, De Witt and De Ruyter, 
now rushed up with part of their squadrons and 
crashed into the group. Thirty ships were huddled 
together in the smash. The carnage was fearful and 
some of the Dutch captains became confused and fled. 
Many were taken and sunk. Still fighting, Tromp 

79 



80 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

ordered a retreat and the English did not dare to 
follow him among the shoals. The victory was with 
them, however. They had sunk six Dutch ships, 
blown up two and they now carried thirteen away in 
triumph. 



TROMP AND MONK OFF HOLLAND 

(A. D. 1()53) 
ENGLISH AND DUTCH 

ri^ ROMP'S last battle was fought on July 31, 
I i<^^53. within sight of the Dutch coast. Monk, 
the English commander, ordered his captains 
to give or take no quarter, and, *'in a few hours," 
says one historian, "the air was filled with frag- 
ments of ships blown up, and human bodies, and 
the sea dyed with the blood of the slain and the 
wounded. A furious fire was opened on both sides 
and soon Tromp's ship was enveloped in smoke. When 
it emerged, a signal was flying that drew all the 
captains to it. A musket ball had pierced the 
heart of their commander and he had died with a 
prayer to the God of battles on his lips. His flag was 
again hoisted and Evertsen assumed command. 
Around the body of the dead admiral then waged 
one of the most furious battles ever seen, but it was in 
vain to resist longer, and the remnant of the Dutch 



TROMP AND MONK. 



81 



fleet retired as best they could, before the victorious 
Enghsh ships." 

Tromp's remains were buried with great pomp at 




General and Admiral George Monk, 
Duke of Albemarle. 



Delft, and on his magnificent tomb is written : ''He 
left to posterity a grand example of mastery in naval 



82 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

warfare, of fidelity to the State, of prudence, of cour- 
age, of intrepidity and of immovable firmness." 



EOBEET BLAKE 

(A. I). 1599-1657) 

ROBERT BLAKE, one of England's famous ad- 
mirals, was born in August, 1599, at Bridge- 
water, in Somersetshire, England, one year be- 
fore Oliver Cromwell. The lives of these two great 
men may be said to have run parallel in the service of 
their country ; their characters were much alike, and 
they died within a few months of each other. 

After receiving a grammar school education, Blake 
was sent to the University of Oxford, and after re- 
ceiving his degree returned to his father's house. He 
became active in the politics of the day and by his hon- 
esty, disinterestedness and public spirit, became a man 
of mark among his neighbors. He served in Parlia- 
ment, and later, raised a troop of horse and rendered 
effective service to his country, becoming a colonel. 
Notwithstanding that he knew nothing of ships and 
had no knowledge of naval matters, Blake, with two 
others were made ''Generals and Admirals at sea," and 
invested with ample powers in 1649. He was fifty 
years old when he entered upon his naval career, but 
he pursued it with even more than his usual 



ADMIRAL BLAKE. 



83 



activity. He blockaded Prince Rupert's fleet for a 
whole winter, and then he fell upon a Portugese fleet 
which vv^as returning 
richly laden from Bra- 
zil. He captured seven- 
teen ships, burned three 
more, and brought his 
prizes safely home. 
Soon afterwards, he 
captured a French man- 
of-war and then pur- 
sued his old enemy. 
Prince Rupert, again. 
In 1651 he succeeded in 
destroying his fleet 
with the exception of 
two ships. 

The next year, Eng- 
land and Holland were 
at war, and Blake 
had command of the 
English fleet for 
nine months. He got 
the best of the Dutch 
Admiral Tromp General and Admiral Robert Blake, 

in their first engagement, and later captured a large 
part of the Dutch fishing fleet. Afterwards he de- 
feated De Ruyter and De Witt in the Downs and 
chased them for four days. In the third battle Tromp 
commanded the Dutch fleet and defeated Blake. The 
next time these admirals met on the seas, a three days' 




84 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



battle occurred in which the Enghsh were victorious. 
Blake was severely wounded in this battle. At the 




Action between Blake and Tromp. 



next encounter between the rival fleets Tromp was 
killed and the victory remained with the English. 



ADMIRAL BLAKE. 



85 



111 health then compelled Blake to retire from the 
service for a time, but in 1654 he was in the IMediter- 
ranean, battering the forts of Tunis. In April, 1657, 
war between England and Spain having been declared 
some time previously, Blake learned that the Spanish 




"^^ 



V %f^' 



Prince E a pert. 

plate fleet was in the bay of Santa Cruz, in the Island 
of Teneriffe. The position was a very strong one and 
Blake was sick at the time, but he sprang from his 
sick bed, and ordered his fleet to enter the bay and fall 
on the Spaniards. Carlyle. in his graphic description 
of the battle says : 

g Sea Kings. 



86 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

"Blake arrives there in time this Monday morning 
(April 20) ; finds the fleet fast moored in Santa Cruz 
Bay; rich silver-ships, strong war-ships, sixteen as we 
count them ; stronger almost than himself, and moored 
here under defences unassailable apparently by any 
mortal. Santa Cruz Bay is shaped as a horse-shoe; 
at the entrance are castles, in the inner circuit are other 
castles, eight of them in all, bristling with great guns; 
warships moored at the entrance, war-frigates moored 
all around the beach, and men and gunners at com- 
mand ; one great magazine of sleeping thunder and de- 
struction ; to appearance, if you wish for sure suicide 
to run into, this must be it. Blake, taking measure of 
the Inisiness, runs into it, defying its loud thunder — 
much out-thunders it — mere whirlwinds of fire and 
iron hail, the old Peak never heard the like; silences 
the castles ; sinks or burns every ship in the harbor ; 
annihilates the Spanish fleet ; and then, the wind veer- 
ing round in his favor, sails out again, leaving Santa 
Cruz Bay much astonished at him." 

Blake got safely out to sea after one of the most 
daring actions on record, but his health continued to 
fail and he died at sea, but in sight of Plymouth, Au- 
gust 7, 1657. His remains laid in state for a time in 
London and then were interred in Westminster Ab- 
bey. Charles II. ordered them exhumed in 1661 and 
removed from the abbey, but they were reinterred in 
the churchyard of St. Margarets. 




MICHAEL ADRIANSZOON DE RUYTER 

(A. I). 1607-1676) 



H 



E is at once an admiral, a captain, a pilot, a sailor, 
a soldier," said the English after the battle of 
the Solebay. 

These words were spoken of the famons Dutch Ad- 
miral De Ruyter, who was born in the town of Flush- 
ing on March 24, 1607. One" day when he was a lad 
of about twelve years, a great crowd w^as gathered in 
the market-place of Flushing, then one of the busiest 
and most prosperous of Holland's towns. Apple- 
women, poultry women, vendors of cheese, and huck- 
sters of meat had deserted their stalls, and all were 
staring and pointing at the church spire that overhung 
the market-place, and in the clear blue sky seemed to 
soar to an immense height. 

87 



88 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

Aloft there, on the very topmost pinnacle, astride of 
the golden ball that blazed and flashed in the sun's rays, 
a figure was seated and frantically waving to the crowd 
below. 

"Who is it?" 

''Young Michael Adrianszoon." 

''An anointed young scamp." 

As the two gossips turned, they caught sight of a 
burly, broad-shouldered figure, strap in hand, trudging 
down the market-place towards them. 

"Adrian INIichaelson, your son's in trouble again," 
said one. 

"H'm, so I see," growled the father, shading his eyes 
with one hand to get a good look. He was a heavy 
fellow whose shoulders were used to carry heavy beer- 
barrels from morning until night, and there was little 
doubt he could make the strap felt. But the boy was 
not within strapping distance. 

The boy on the spire was shouting with all his might, 
apparently well satisfied with his exploit. The people 
in the market place began to shout to him to come down. 
They bawled themselves red in the face, but the boy 
took the sounds for compliments and waved his cap the 
more. Suddenly a louder shout went up. The daring- 
boy gripping the weathercock with one hand was actual- 
ly dancing on top of the great gilt ball ! 

"He's standing on one leg!" "He's oroinc to stand on 
his head !" "Fine doings on top of a holy building !" 

Then some one with sharper wits, called out, "He 
got up there by the ladder — he must have! And he 
can't come down for the workmen have taken it off." 



ADMIRAL DE RUYTER. 



89 



When the boy found that the ladder was really gone, 
he sat down to wait for the return of the workmen, but 



became dull 
work, and he 
thought out a 
plan which 
would still 
give the peo- 
ple so m e- 
thing to stare 
at and wind 
up his per- 
f o r m a n c e 
finely. 

Clasping 
his a r m s 
firmly around 
the top of 
the ball, he 
lowered his 
body until 
his toes 
touched the 
topmost slate. 
Only a por- 
tion of the 
spire had 
been repaired. 




He Got Tp There By the Ladder." 



and 



he had chosen a spot where the 
slates were rotten. His toes just reached. It was a 
terrible moment for the spectators, and for the boy too, 



90 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

for if he failed to kick through a slate, it was douhtful 
if his strength would hold out to pull himself back to 
the top of the ball again. 

The little legs waved in the air as his toes went tap, 
tap, on the slates. Like most young Hollanders he 
wore shoes with stout iron toe-plates. It was the only 
way in wdiich a profligate waste of shoe-leather could be 
retarded. These iron plates saved him, for at last he 
cracked the slate and pushed a toe through — then an- 
other. 

The wooden framework on which the slates rested, 
formed a series of ladders, of which the boy had just 
laid bare the topmost rung. He worked his feet in at 
the hole till they rested on the frame work, and so 
gained a footing, by the aid of which he kicked in more 
of the slates. 

But now he must get his hands off the ball, and at 
last they unclasp and move inch by inch over its face 
until the base of the ball is grasped. Then with a long 
breath his right leg is lowered, and he kicks away mer- 
rily at a lower tier of slates. Soon his hand is on the top 
rung of the framework, and he lowers himself easily as 
down a ladder. Cheerfully kicking in slate after slate he 
reached the parapet, and with a wave of his cap and a 
merry shout disappeared down the stair of the tower. 

His father had taken the strap home, reserving the 
punishment for the seclusion of the home ; the crowd 
melted away, but the boy did not appear. Suddenly 
a dismal sound arose within the building. Michael had 
inflated the organ and then ran around to the keyboard 
in time to produce a note of surpassing melancholy. 



ADMIRAL DE RUYTER. 91 

Into the church dashed the beadle, and around the organ 
rushed Michael , finding time now and then to give the 




Jid 



Admiral De Ruyter 

bellows another squeeze, then around to the front again 
to produce another discord. Then the bov became 



92 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

weary of this game, and dashed into the aisle, leading 
the beadle a dance in and out among the pillars, until 
that worthy sunk into a seat and mopped his brow. 

"You — young villain !" he panted. "You — graceless 
— young — demon !" 

Michael made him a low bow, and scampered out of 
the church. 

He went home and was duly flogged. He went to 
school and raised a revolution there. He was set to 
work in a rope-yard and neglected to make the rope 
which his master vowed would hang him in time. He 
left his work to play, and his play to fight. Finally his 
master sought the boy's father. 

"That boy of yours is a confirmed rascal. I can do 
nothing with him. Send him to sea." 

"So I would, only you see his mother is afraid he'll 
be drowned if he goes." 

"And Fm morally certain he'll be hanged if he stays. 
There's a ship of mine sailing next week for the Indies. 
Send him in her; if he tries any of his capers there — " 
A piece of rope twirled in the air finished the sen- 
tence. 

Michael went to sea on December 26, 161 8, but he 
did not go to the bad, for he made himself a name that 
history cherishes. From cabin-boy he grew to be a 
captain in the Dutch navy in 1635 and the next year 
the merchants of Flushing gave him a ship and sent 
him against the French pirates who were preying on 
their commerce. In 1640, he was the rear-admiral of a 
fleet fitted out to assist Portu^^^al against Spain. Some 
years later he defeated an Algerian fleet four times as 



THE DUTCH IN THE MEDWAY. 93 

large as his own. In 1652 he and Admiral DeWitt 
attacked the fleet of the English Admiral Blake ofif the 
month of the Thames, bnt were beaten off. They had 
their revenge two months later, for Blake was defeated 
off Dover. In 1653, De Rnyter was with Tromp in the 
battle where the famons Admiral was killed. He was 
in many of the naval engagements between England 
and Holland, and then in the ^Mediterranean made him- 
self a terror to Turkish and Algerian pirates. 

In 1659 De Ruyter joined the Kipg of Denmark in 
his war with Sweden, and was ennobled and given a 
pension at the close of the war. When England and 
Holland went to war again, De Ruyter had plenty to do. 
He was tlien admiral-in-chief of the Dutch navy. Monk 
and Prince Rupert fought him for four days in June, 
1666; and in July Monk drove him back to Holland. 



THE DUTCH IN THE MEDWAY 

(A. D. 1667) 
DUTCH AND ENGLISH 

ON June 17 De Ruyter with about seventy ships 
anchored in the mouth of the Thames. A 
council of general officers was then called and 
the object of the expedition made known to them. The 
next morning the Dutch ships were higher up the river, 
but navip^ation was slow and difficult for the Thames 



94 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

was full of sands and dangerous shoals. It was not 
until the afternoon of the 20th that they were opposite 
Sheerness. The feeble garrison made the best re- 
sistance possible, but unless the English could arrest 
their progress, the way to London was now open to the 
Dutch. They sunk ships in the river and stretched a 
chain from shore to shore above them, but these offered 
no obstacle for the Dutch ships broke the chain and 
passed between the vessels, aided by a high tide and an 
easterly wind. In triumph they passed up the river, 
throwing the city of London in consternation. 

Charles II. of England had never forgiven the Hol- 
landers for the degree of exclusion which thev had pro- 
nounced against his house. But he had neglected his 
ports, and at the very moment when De Ruyter was 
sailing up the Thames, he was wasting his time in the 
frivolities of his court. Monk, De Ruyter's old an- 
tagonist, was aged and suffering, but he personally 
hastened to encounter the Dutch. When the bullets were 
whistling about him, his aides-de-camp begged him to 
retire. 

'Tf I was afraid of bullets, gentlemen," said Monk, 
*'I should long ago have quitted this business." 

On June 22, some of De Ruyter's vessels and five or 
six fire-ships advanced up the Medway which they 
ascended as far as Upnor Castle, capturing three Eng- 
lish ships on their way. They fired upon the castle for 
some time without doing much damage, and then the 
fire ships, going farther up, burned three ships, the 
Loyal London, Great James, and Royal Oak; they also 
captured the Royal Charles, and then got to sea with- 




03 



95 



96 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

out doing further injury; their loss being two small 
ships only. 

This descent upon England was planned with the ut- 
most deliberation in Holland. The Dutch corre- 
spondents in England sent word that there were not 
half-a-dozen good ships afloat, and that if a good fleet 




De AVitt and De Ruyter Consulting the Map of London 

were sent over it would meet with little or no re- 
sistance. Peace negotiations were going on at Breda 
and the Government of Holland sent word to their 
representatives to draw them out as long as possible, 
for they were going to play the English a trick. Then 
De Ruyter was sent for, a map of London was pro- 
duced, showing how few ships, castles or soldiers were 



IN THE SOLEBAY. 97 

about, and De Witt and the Admiral laid their plans 
with many a chuckle. So, while the gentlemen at 
Breda were discussing the articles of peace, De Ruyter 
sailed out with his fleet. The peace loetween England 
and Holland was concluded in the same year, however. 
No further hostilities between these two nations oc- 
curred until 1672, when it appearing desirable to quar- 
rel again an English squadron was sent to intercept the 
Dutch homeward-bound Smyrna fleet. The English 
commander met \\ith no great success, however, and 
was himself severely wounded. 



IN THE SOLEBAY 

(A. I). lG72j 
HOLLAND AGAINST ENGLAND AND FRANCE 

ON May 28, De Ruyter with Bancquert and Van 
Ghent met the allied fleets of England and 
France in the Solebay. The Dutch fleet con- 
sisted of seventy-five large ships and forty frigates; 
the English, under the Duke of York and the Earl 
of Sandwich, had one hundred vessels ; and the 
French ships commanded by Count d'Estrees, num- 
bered forty, \\lien the Dutch fleet appeared in 
the ofling the allied fleets were lying in the Sole- 
bay, and so much were they taken by surprise that 



98 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

many ships cut their cahles, and the utmost speed was 
necessary to enable them to get ready to receive the 
enemy. 

Admiral Bancquert commenced the action by an at- 
tack upon Count d'Estrees, and after a short time the 
French left the fight. De Ruyter assailed the Duke of 
York's squadron, and the St. Michael bearmg his royal 
highness' flag, soon lost her mainmast. The largest 
ship present, the Royal James, carried the flag of the 
Earl of Sandwich. She was attacked by the Great Hol- 
land, Captain Adrian Brackel, who was supported by 
Van Ghent and a squadron of five ships. It was a ter- 
rible struggle. Van Ghent was killed, three of the five 
ships sunk, and the Great Holland beaten off with the 
loss of her captain and most of her officers, as well as 
two-thirds of her crew\ The Royal James was greatly 
damaged, and at last a Dutch fire-ship boarded, and 
set her on fire. 

The crew were struck with a sudden terror and 
leaped into the water from all sides. Six hundred of 
the thousand men she contained were lying on her 
decks, killed or wounded and unable to move. The 
sea was covered with men who had escaped one death 
only to find another. The Earl of Sandwich and his 
two sons attempted to leave the ship in a boat, when it 
became overcrowded, capsized, and sank leaving the 
Earl on board to find a horrible death in the flames. 
His body was afterwards found floating in the bay, so 
scorched and disfigured that he could only be recog- 
nized by his clothes. 

With reunited squadrons the English then attacked 



IN THE SOLEBAY. 



99 



the Dutch. De Ruyter narrowly escaped destruction 
from a fire-ship, and being wounded, with his ship badly 




Destruction of the "Royal James" in the Solebay 

disabled, he was obliged to quit the combat. Then 
with some order restored among their squadrons, the 
L.ofC. 



100 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

Dutch renewed the attack, and the fury of the fight was 
renewed ; but the French still kept at a distance. 
Finally, about nine o'clock at night, both fleets having 
suffered severely, their fire slackened, and as if by 
nutual consent, they separated, the Dutch bearing away 
to the north unmolested. 

De Ruyter took his ships home, and when it was 
learned that the allied fleets had retired and that one 
of their most gallant admirals had been burned on one 
of the noblest ships, Holland was jubilant. But not 
for long, however. De Ruyter soon began to feel that 
popular gratitude was more fickle than the winds and 
waves with which he had fought all his life. Foolish 
rumors and lies were circulated about and a mob of 
senseless and cruel inhabitants of the Hague murdered 
the two brothers De Witt, trampling upon and disfig- 
uring their bodies in the most bloodthirsty manner. De 
Ruyter was deeply shocked when he heard of it and ex- 
claimed, "My poor country. God forbid that there 
should be any more such riots." 

De Ruyter 's sympathy for the unfortunate victims 
became known to the people while he was aw^ay at sea, 
and not long after the deplorable occurrence Mrs. De 
Ruyter was warned that her house might be attacked 
and plundered. One day she, with her daughter and 
niece, and two female servants were alone in the house 
when suddenly hundreds of people from the lowest 
classes came pouring towards the house. Mrs. De Ruy- 
ter sent for her son-in-law in haste, and standing on 
the steps of the Admiral's house he asked the mob 
what they wanted. A thousand voices shouted that. 



IN THE SOLEBAY 



101 



*'the Admiral had sold the fleet to the French." The 
women said, "he was to receive a gold piece for every 
one of their husbands," while others cried that the Ad- 
miral had been brought into the Hague, bound hand 
and foot like a felon. 




Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich 

Mrs. De Ruyter ran into her room and soon re- 
turned with a letter which she gave to her son-in-law. 
''Does anyone know the Admiral's handv/riting?" he 
asked. Fifty voices answered, "Yes," and the letter 
was handed round. It was dated from his ship and in 
it he said he hoped soon again to meet the enemy. Even 

7 Sea Kings. 



102 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



fought 



this did not satisfy the people and it required the pres- 
ence of a large body of troops to disperse the mob. 

De Ruyter 
three 
more furious 
battles with 
h i s oppo- 
nents. The 
first of these 
took place on 
the anniver- 
sary of the 
b a't 1 1 e of 
Solebay, and 
the Dutch 
^^• i t h d r e w 
fro m the 
action and 
took refuge 
among the 
sand s of 
their o w n 
coasts, where 
they knew 
they would 
not be fol- 
lowed. The 

oi- . .1 *^ . 1, T ix second action 

Showing the Admirars Letter. . , 

^ was mdeci- 

sive, but on August 21, 1673, the battle at the mouth of 

the Texel was fought and lasted from early morning 




IN THE SOLEBAY. 



103 



until nightfall. All along the Dutch coast the inhabi- 
tants ran to the churches, bells were tolled, and the 
thunder of the cannon was listened to with breathless 
suspense. \\'hen night fell, De Ruyter had beaten 
back the English fleet. 

In 1675, De Ruyter was helping the Spaniards 
against the French in the Mediterranean. He met the 
French fleet early in the year, and again in April. Both 
his legs were shot off in the last encounter, and he died 
in Syracuse, April 29, 1676. His remains were taken 
to Amsterdam, where a magnificent monument was 
raised to his memory. 





J(3HN PAUL JONES 

(A. 1). 1747-1792) 

IN December, 1775, the Continental Congress issued 
its first naval commissions, and among them was 
one for John Paul Jones. At that time he was 
twenty-eight years old, slight in stature, with a 
thoughtful expression, and dark piercing eyes. 

He was the youngest of the five sons of John Paul, 
a gardener, who lived at Arbigland, Scotland. His 
birth occurred on July 6, 1747. As the lad grew up, 
he was charmed by local legends, or the tales of ocean 
perils and delighted to sail tiny fleets in the little bays 
and inlets of the Kircudbright shore. When he 
reached the age of twelve years he went to sea, and not 
long afterwards visited Virginia where an older 

104 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 105 

brother had been settled for some time. He applied 
himself to the study of navigation and kindred sub- 



i^ 




Commodore John Paul Jones. 

jects, and when he reached the age of six- 
teen he obtained the position of third mate in a 



106 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

slaver, hailing from White Haven. In three years he 
was first mate of another vessel in the same trade, but 
he had seen enough of the cruel business, and in 1768, 
left the ship in the West Indies, and returned to Scot- 
land. 

Captain Paul, as he was now called, commanded a 
vessel in the West India trade for sometime, and then 
went to Virginia to take charge of the estate of his 
brother, who had meanwhile died. For a time he 
abandoned the ocean, and settled down to plantation 
life. The flame of the Revolution, kindled at Lexine- 
ton, aroused him from his peaceful life near Freder- 
icksburg, and, armed with a letter from Hugh Mercer 
— afterwards a general in the patriot cause, he ap- 
peared before the Marine Committee of the Conti- 
nental Congress in Philadelphia and offered his ser- 
vices. At this time he affixed Jones to his name, but 
he never explained his reasons for doing so. One 
man, Richard Henry Lee, knew the man and his his- 
tory, and so, on December 22, 1775, a commission as 
lieutenant in the American navy was made out to John 
Paul Jones. 

Jones was offered the command of a sloop, but pre- 
ferred to serve on a larger vessel even in a subordinate 
position. He was then ordered to the Alfred, nhich 
with six other vessels all taken from the merchant ser- 
vice were under the command of Comniodcn-e Esek 
Hopkins. While on the Alfred. Lieutenant Jones 
hoisted with his own hands the first ensign ever dis- 
played on an American man-of-war. After some 
months of service in the Alfred, Jones was given the 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 



107 



command of the sloop Providence, twelve guns, and 
performed many brave exploits in that little craft. 

Jones' commission as 
captain is dated Octo- 
ber lo, 1776. Still in 
the Providence he 
chased the Solebay 
frigate, supposing her 
to be an English mer- 
chantman. He nar- 
rowly escaped capture, 
but by consummate 
skill managed to get 
away. ' Later in the 
year he made one of his 
daring cruises. In 
forty-seven days he 
captured sixteen prizes, 
destroyed many small 
vessels, and spread dis- 
may among the Tories 
and fisher-folk along 
the coasts of Nova 
Scotia and Cape Bre- 
ton. At one time he 
made an attempt to 
liberate a hundred 
American prisoners 
who were kept at work 
in the coal mines 
of Cape Breton, but the 




Jones Raised the First Ensign 
Ever Displayed on an Ameri- 
can Man-of-War 



108 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



harbors ^vere frozen and the plan had to be aban- 
doned. ^ , , 

Upon his retnrn, Jones was not promoted as he 
should have been. On the contrary he was degraded. 



I w C O ! N G R E S a 

The.O E L t C A T t S e(«t»»f U N | T E D S WA T £ S of NewH^mfJb.r^ Mipeiu/ithL'aj, 
Rlfxitlllo^t, C<»'*''7.c///. A/fuT"--*! NcvjA-/,y. Penn/jJvMit. OeUvarcfiufjUtut. Vu^itUt 

Wt fVpofmg ef^)rc^^l T'ofl a d Confidentt id fou! PttriotUiJ. Valour, CSadu<^an4 Fidelity, 
DO.>bythfrf Pfffc'rv. cc jIIkuk and appomcyou to bf w^*^^/^'^****^ 

(lies of NofA Ameiicj.ili'ifd out for h» Defence of Americin Libetty»«aRd for tpellioz every hoftile 
wfiort i^rreof Vou are the irfbre car f'jMy tnd dOJgeotljf lo difchargc the Duty f ^t^tio**/ 
.by doiog and prrf<ntming all n inner of Thingt thereunto belonging. Am wt ^ Rri£Uy charge 
lUUt lU Officers. Mirnii'i(andS( unen under your ComAiand. to be obfidiatM.groui Order* at 
Ar.d you are o obfei've and toJIow fucb Orden sad Direliomt frornVTimc to 
M you Orall r^cei»« from thj» o» rt future Congftfs of the United Sutca, or CoDmitieeof Congrela 
Purpofe appointed, or Commahder lalChid' for the Time being of the .Maty of *e United 
any otht' you» fopeijor Offidr.loceoraing to the Rules tad Diicipline <f War, the Uftge of 
id the Ionfoaions'»«ere*ith.^ven-you, in Purfotnce of chelVi}ft tctofetf «» y«to.. TW»„ 
^mimApR to continue in Force until revAkea bf this or • future CofBgieli. 



hSXSi&L. 



1^ 










OCIIV 



Fac-simile of John Paul Jones' Commission 

He did not submit in silence but wrote a series of let- 
ters to the Marine Committee, in which he proved to 
that body that they were dealing with no ordinary 
man Jones obtained the command of the Ranger, a 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 



109 



new ship, finally. The flag of thirteen stripes and thir- 
teen stars had just been adopted and Jones raised this 




Jones' Men Demanding Plunder 

new ensign of the republic on the Ranger, with his 
own hands. 

In November, Jones sailed for France and arrived 



110 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

at Nantes in December, having captured two prizes on 
the way. He went to Paris, and had a conference 
with the American Commissioners, and the result was 
that in February, 1778, he was placed in command of 
the Ranger, an alliance between France and the new 
republic having been brought about principally 
through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin and Silas 
Deane. Jones hoisted the flag of the United States on 
the Ranger, and the French Admiral saluted it with 
nine guns. 

In the Ranger, Jones spread the wildest alarm along 
the English coasts, capturing or destroying every ves- 
sel that fell in his way. In order to avenge English 
depredations on American coasts he landed and spiked 
batteries, and burned shipping, pleading the necessity 
of teaching the English, ''that not all their boasted 
navy could protect their own coasts." About this time 
Jones formed the project of capturing the Earl of Sel- 
kirk, with a view to exchanging him for a number 
of American prisoners confined in English jails. The 
absence of the Earl from home frustrated the plan, 
but his mansion was visited by the seamen who longed 
for prize money, and his valuable plate carried off. 
This was against Jones' wishes, for he was among the 
scenes of his boyhood and had received nothing but 
kindness from Lady Selkirk. AMien the prizes of the 
Ranger were sold, Jones bought the plate and restored 
it to its owner, sending with it a manly letter. The 
Earl publicly made the fact known, but Jones' reputa- 
tion has suffered at the hands of some prejudiced his- 
torians who have told the story of the robbery, but 



JOHN PAUL JONES. Ill 

omitted to relate the circumstances under which it 
was committed and the fact of its restoration. 

A Httle later, Jones captured the English sloop-of- 
war, Drake, and with his prize and two hundred pris- 
oners arrived at Brest in the month of May. He was 
forced to remain inactive after that time, for a long 
while, finally he succeeded in having an interview with 
the French Minister of Marine, and with the King 
himself. He soon convinced them that he could be of 
great service to France by annoying the English, and 
so, after much more delay Jones found himself the 
commodore of a little fleet. 

On August 14, 1779, he sailed from L' Orient on a 
cruise off the coasts of Great Britain. His own ship 
was an old merchantman, the Due de Diiras, now made 
into a man-of-war, and name I the Bon Homme Rieh- 
ard in honor of Dr. Benjamin Franklin. It was a mis- 
erable ship, unseaworthy, and unfit for any kind of 
service, but Jones was glad to have it and to be at sea 
again. 

Jones was fortunate in having for his second in 
command a young American by the name of Richard 
Dale. Dale was a naval officer who had been captured 
and taken to England as a prisoner. He had made 
his escape from the famous Mill Prison and had made 
his way to France. A deep and lasting attachment 
grew up between the two men, and in the world-fam- 
ous battle between the Bon Homme Richard and the 
Sera pis. Dale proved himself worthy to serve under 
Jones. 

The efficiency of Jones' fleet of seven vessels was 



112 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

hampered by the insubordination of Landais, the 
French commander of the Alliance, an American 
frigate, which had been added to his command, at 
Jones' request. The crews contained representatives 
of nearly every nation of Europe, and included some 
Malays; there were only about seventy-five Amer- 
icans among the four hundred seamen who manned 
the vessels. A storm scattered the fleet, but the Bon 
Honinic RichanU the Alliance, and two or three 
smaller craft, made a descent upon the town of Leith, 
intending to demand a heavy ransom. The wildest 
alarm spread along the coasts of the Firth of Forth, for 
the people regarded Jones as little better than a pirate. 
The good people of Kirkcaldy believing that he was 
coming to plunder and destroy, solicited their min- 
ister to pray for deliverance from the approaching 
cruiser. 

"Now, deer Laird," began the eccentric and not over 
reverent man, 'Vlinna ye think it a shame to send this 
vile piret to rob our poor folk o' Kirkcaldy, for ye 
know they're poor enow already, and hac naething to 
spare. The wa the ween blows, he'll be here in a jif- 
fie, and wha kens what he may do ? He's none too guid 
for ony thing. Mickle's the mischief he's dune already. 
He'll burn their hooses, tak' they very claes, and tirl 
them to the sark; and, waesme! wha kens but the 
bluidy villain may tak' their lives ! The puir weemen 
are maist frightened out o' their wits, and the bairns 
skirling after them. I canna thoi't it ! I canna thoi't 
it! I have been lang a faithfu' servant to ye Laird; 
but give ye dinna turn the ween about, and blaw the 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 



113 



scoundrel out o' our gate, 111 na staur a fit, but wi] 
just sit here till the tide comes. Sae, tak' yere wull o't.' 



-_^k_ 



A- 




Praying for Deliverance from the Cruiser 

The "ween" did turn about, and Jones was com- 
pelled to abandon his purpose, and put to sea. 

On September 23, 1779, Jones fought the wonderful 



114 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

action with which his name is imperishably connected. 
So near the land were the opposing ships that hun- 
dreds of people collected on the shore to witness the 
battle. 



"BON HOMME RICHARD" AND 
''SERAPIS" 

(A. D. 1779) 
AMERICANS AND ENGLISH 

NIGHT fell as the breathless watchers on the 
shore viewed the hostile ships draw near, 
ready for action. The Alliance had now 
joined the Bon Honinic Richard; the other American 
vessels were the Pallas, the Vengeance, and the Cerf, 
a large cutter. The British ships were the Scrapis, 
Captain Pearson, and the Countess of Scarborough. 
They had been convoying a fleet of merchantmen. 

The full moon swung above the horizon of the 
North Sea and flooded the scene with light. The light 
breezes fluttered the red ensign of the British navy as 
it ran above the Serapis; the Richard defiantly dis- 
played the Stars and Stripes. With a glare that 
flashed over the dark waters, the ports of the Serapis 
w^ere thrown open, displaying her batteries sighted 
and cleared for action. 

''What ship is that?" hailed the English com- 
mander. 



- - .. ■ ^ 


k\ 


M 


^T||^^^^HH 


^m^ M 


-■ yw:;.^^.^ 


:^^H 


^ J 




^^t^ 


1 








HHwC /%' 


.M 


■; .^^^ 


\ "■'. " 


^BHUqiAl^w / . 


_.^t^';. •. 


. '^r ^ -'V •■- 


;,,-#■ ■* 




IP.'' 


• 


'*'-'"■ 


'a^^^'^^M*!!^" 






,^5^ 


¥^^ 





Battle between the "Bon Homme Richard" and the "Serapis." 

115 



IIG SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

"Come a little nearer, and I will tell you," was 
Jones' reply, as his battle lanterns gleamed along the 
decks. 

''What are you laden with?'' demanded the English 
captain. 

''Round, grape, and double-headed shot," was the 
answer. 

A broad side from the Scrapis began the action, and 
the thunders of one of the most terrible sea-fights re- 
corded in history boomed and crashed over the ocean. 

Jones brought six old eighteen-pounders into 
action. At the first discharge two of them burst, blow- 
ing up the main deck and killing nearly every one in 
the gun-room. After this, the battery was abandoned, 
and while the guns of the Scrapis tore through and 
through the rotten timbers of the Richard, the two 
ships drew nearer, and at last their spars and rigging 
became entangled. Jones attempted to board, but was 
repulsed. 

"Has your ship struck?" cried Captain Pearson, 
who could not see the American flag. 

"I have not yet begun to fight!" was Jones' reply. 

Soon the two ships lay side by side. Jones lashed 
them together, and in that embrace, with the muzzles 
of their guns touching each other the combat went on. 
Nearly all the guns of the Richard were useless, but 
from deck to deck of the entangled vessels the combat- 
ants rushed madly, fighting with pikes, pistols, and cut- 
lasses, Jones was everywhere. His crew had suf- 
ered terribly, his ship leaked badly, but he fought on. 
Up to this time the cowardly Landais had kept 




Fighting on the Deck of the "Serapis" 

u Sea Kings. 117 



118 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

aloof frcm the combat. Now, under the moon which 
was flooding the scene with light, he bore down and 
poured a broadside into the Richard. Then, not satis- 
fied with this, he continued to fire on his crippled, sink- 
ing consort. Many think now, as then, that Landais 
hoped to kill Jones, make an easy prize of the Scrapis, 
and gain the honors of a great victory. 

Jones managed to shift two or three guns, and 
swept the deck of the Scrapis with a destructive fire. 
He had mostly abandoned the lower decks to escape 
the fire of the English, and the crew of the Richard 
were fighting on the upper deck and in the tops of the 
Scrapis. While this singular condition of the battle 
was in progress, some of the light sails of the Scrapis 
caught fire. The flames spread, and both crews joined 
in extinguishing them. This was repeated sev- 
eral times. Then one of the hand-grenades cast from 
the Richard ignited a row of cartridges on the deck 
of the Scrapis, killing and wounding upwards of fifty 
men. 

Then the cry that the Richard was sinking, rose 
above the din of the battle, and the gunner, supposing 
from another cry that all the officers were killed, 
rushed on deck and called for ''quarter." Jones threw a 
pistol at his head and hurled him down a hatchway. 

''Do you call for quarter," hailed Pearson. 

''Never !" cried Jones. 

''Then I'll give you none," replied Pearson, and im- 
mediately tried to board the Richard, but meeting 
Jones at the rail, pike in hand, the party fell back, 
thinking many of the crew were behind him. 



THE "RICHARD" AND THE "SERAPIS." 119 

The prisoners had been Hberated by the master-at- 
arms, and nothing appeared more helpless than to con- 
tinue the combat; but Jones, although his ship was 
sinking, and his guns nearly silenced, had no thought 
of surrender. He ordered the prisoners to the pumps, 
and they obeyed. 

But now the flames were creeping up the rigging of 
the Scrapis, and Jones could see that the mainmast of 
the vessel had been nearly cut through. With his 
own hands he aimed a gun loaded with double-headed 
shot at the weakened mast, and soon it reeled. Pear- 
son saw his danger and struck the colors of the 
Serapis with his own hand. Lieutenant Dale passed to 
the deck of the Scrapis and took possesion of the prize. 
Pearson and his officers passed over to the Richard 
and surrendered their swords. 

Tt is painful," he remarked, "to deliver up my 
sword to a man who has fought with a halter around 
his neck." 

Jones returned the weapon, courteously, saying, 
"Sir, you have fought like a hero, and I make no doubt 
but your sovereign will reward you in the most ample 
manner." 

Pearson was rewarded with knighthood, and when 
Jones heard of it, he is reported to have said : — 

"Well, he deserves it; and if I fall in with him 
again, I will make a lord of him." 

When the lashings were cut, the Richard slowly 
drifted away, and then it was discovered that she was 
surely sinking. In his report of the action, Jones said, 
"The rudder was cut entirely off, the stern frames and 



120 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

transoms were almost cut entirely away, and the tim- 
bers on the lower deck, especially from the mainmast 
toward the stern, being greatly decayed with age, were 
mangled beyond my power of description; and a per- 
son must have been an eyewitness to form a just 
idea of the tremendous scene of carnage, wreck, and 
ruin which everywhere appeared." Prisoners and men 
were sent on board the Sera pis, and the Richard dis- 
appeared below the waters of the North Sea. 

The CoiDifcss of Scarborough surrendered to the 
Pallas after a combat of about an hour, although Lan- 
dais had fired into her, as well as into the Richard, 
during the battle. Jones took the prizes into the Te^el, 
just escaping an English fleet of eleven sail that had 
been sent out to meet him. 

Jones was received with the wildest enthusiasm and 
the King of France received him at court and gave 
him an elegant gold-mounted sword. His name and 
exploits were on every tongue in America, and after an 
interval of eight years Congress awarded him a gold 
medal for his great victory. 

Jones' indignation at his subsequent treatment at 
the French Court, after the first burst of enthusiasm 
was over, was so great that he resolved to return to 
America. He reconsidered his determination, how- 
ever, and made a cruise in the Alliance. But he was 
not satisfied with the way his efforts were rewarded, 
and welcomed orders to return to America, which he 
reached in February, 1781. 

In June of the same year Jones was appointed to 
the America, a new vessel then under construction. 



THE "RICHARD" AND THE "SERAPIS.' 



121 



He was destined never to sail her though, for she was 
presented to France in gratitude for the alhance with 




Capturing the Turkish Galleys 



that nation. Jones was greatly disappointed, and went 
to the West Indies with a French fleet, and later sailed 
for France, being authorized by Congress to obtain 



122 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

the prize-money to which his crew and himself were 
entitled. This business settled, and with his pockets 
full of money, Jones lived in ease and honor. He had 
been made a Chevalier, and given the decoration of the 
Military Order of Merit by the King, previously. He 
formed many plans for advancement, but nothing came 
of them. Jones returned to the United States in 1787, 
and then was sent on a mission to the Court of Den- 
mark. While there he received a proposition to en- 
ter the service of Queen Catharine of Russia. He at 
once set out by way of Sweden, but nearly lost his life 
in an open boat on the Baltic, on the way. 

Jones received great honors at the Russian Court, 
and he was soon given a high command, but from 
the first there was great jealousy between him and 
various Russian ofificials and oiTficers. Russia was at 
war with Turkey, and in a naval engagement Jones 
displayed the greatest skill and bravery. Having 
placed his flagship in proper position, Jones entered 
an armed boat and dashed into the midst of some 
Turkish galleys. He captured two, and fired four 
others, retiring to his ship with fifty-two prisoners, 
without the loss of a man. But Jones had many en- 
emies, and while he was not dismissed from the Rus- 
sian service, he was given a furlough for two years and 
a passport to leave the country. 

He left the Russian capital, and his attack upon the 
Turkish galleys was his last notable exploit. He vis- 
ited various European cities and finally settled in Paris 
where he died on July 18, 1792. The spot where he 
was buried was not discovered until 1899 and the fol- 



THE "RICHARD" AND THE "SERAPIS." 123 

lowing year steps were taken to erect a monument to 
the great naval hero, who deserved this at least from 
his adopted country. He had fought twenty-three 
battles on the sea; he had made seven descents upon 




Gold Medal Presented to Jones by Congress. 

Great Britain or her colonies ; had captured four large 
ships and scores of transports, tenders and store ships ; 
and forced Great Britain to discontinue her policy of 
confining captured American seamen in prisons and on 
prison-ships as felons, 




LORD RICHARD HOWE 

(A. I). 1726-1799) 

RICHARD HOWE was born in London, March 8, 
1726. His father was Emmanuel Scrope 
Howe, Second Viscount Howe in the Irish 
peerage, who was descended from an old family which 
had attained distinction both in war and politics. Rich- 
ard Howe was sent to the famous English school at 
Eton at an early age, but left it when he was fourteen 
years old to become a midshipman on the Severn. He 
served under Anson in his famous South Sea expedi- 
tion, and rose in his profession until he became a lieu- 
tenant in his twentieth year. He served in many squad- 
rons and fleets and participated in many gallant 
actions. 

124 



LORD RICHARD HOWE. 



125 



During the seven years' war with France, Howe 
especially distinguished himself. An attempt was 




Lord Richard Howe. 

made to capture St. Malo, but it was found to be too 
strong and the English army were obliged to re-em- 



126 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

bark. Of his conspicuous conduct on that occasion, 
Howe's biographer says : ''The grenadiers had noth- 
ing left for it but to escape with all speed to the boats, 
or remain to be killed ; they were ordered, therefore, 
to make to the shore as quickly as possible. A battery 
thrown up on the hill shattered several of the boats 
to pieces. As others approached the shore, many of 
the seamen were killed or wounded, which so intimi- 
dated the rowers that they hesitated to proceed, and lay 
on their oars. Howe, observing this backwardness 
and suspecting its cause, sprang into the barge, rowed 
into the midst of the fire of shot and shell, and stand- 
ing upright in the boat, waved the seamen to follow 
him. His example animated their depressed spirits; 
no one now thought of shrinking, but all strove eagerly 
who would pick up the greatest number of poor fel- 
lows, some swimming, some wading into the sea." 

At the age of thirty-three, Howe married and 
shortly afterwards, by the death of his brother, suc- 
ceeded to the family titles and estate. In 1763 he was 
in the admiralty board and in 1770 he was made a 
rear-admiral of the blue. Five years later he was a 
rear-admiral of the white. In 1776, he was in com- 
mand of a squadron and was sent to America, with 
instructions to conciliate the colonists. With this end 
in view, he sent a letter to George Washington, Esq., 
under a flag of truce. The ofificer who bore it was 
told that there was no such person in the American 
army, and Washington persistently refused to receive 
a letter which ignored his official rank. In his letter 
to Congress, regarding the matter, Washington said: 



THE SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR. 127 

''I deemed it a duty to my country and my appointment 
to insist upon that respect which, in any other than a 
pubHc view, I would willingly have waived." The un- 
lucky attempt at negotiation failed. 



THE SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR 

(A. D. 1782) 
ENGLISH AGAINST FRENCH AND SPANIARDS 

IN 1782, Howe, then in command of the Channel 
fleet, was ordered to the relief of Gibraltar then 
beseiged by the combined land and sea forces of 
France and Spain. General Elliott was in command of 
the garrison, and opposed to him were forty-seven 
French and Spanish men-of-war, ten battery ships and 
innumerable small craft. On shore was an army of 
forty thousand men, ready to co-operate with the fleet. 
The ten floating batteries poured in a furious fire on 
the morning of September 13, 1782. The heaviest 
English shot and shells rebounded from their massive 
sides and roofs, and it was not until the beseiged re- 
plied with red-hot shot that they began to suffer. Be- 
fore ten o'clock in the morning, four hundred pieces 
of artillery were roaring in the dreadful combat. One 
chronicler says : ''Such a naval and military spectacle 
most certainly is not to be equalled in the annals of 
war." 



128 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

It was the ''roasted potatoes," as the EngHsh called 
the red-hot shot that they hurled at their foes, that 
caused the allied fire to cease. A little after midnight 
one of the floating batteries burst into flames, then an- 
other and still another. The conflagration made the 
scene as light as day. One blew up and then the re- 
mainder were abandoned by their crews. During the 
next month Howe landed the troops, stores and am- 
munition that he had brought, without any interrup- 
tion from the allied fleets. He then returned to Eng- 
land. He was made first lord of the Admiralty and 
shortly afterwards was raised to an earldom. On 
June I, 1794, he gained a great victory over the French 
fleet off Ushant. He resigned his command in 1797, 
but the same year was given full powers to treat with 
the mutineers in the British fleet. 

At that time British sailors labored under many 
grievances and gradually the service became demoral- 
ized. At first the sailors endeavored to obtain fair play 
by all legitimate means in their power. They ad- 
dressed Lord Howe asking his interposition with the 
Admiralty to obtain a relief from their grievances, and 
he took steps in that direction, but the answer was re- 
turned that ''the petitions were the work of some evil- 
disposed person or persons," and nothing was done to 
investigate their allegations. Then the seamen, finding 
their applications for redress not only disregarded, but 
treated with contempt, determined to compel the au- 
thorities to give them the reh'ef they had submissively 
asked. 

Their plans were laid with great secrecy, and when 




129 



130 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



orders came for the Channel Fleet to put to sea it was 
the signal for the outbreak of the mutiny. Not a sailor 
bestirred himself; not a rope was bent, but, as if by 
common consent, the crews of every vessel in the 

squadron 
manned the 
yards and 
rigging, and 
gave three 
cheers. They 
then proceed- 
ed to take 
the command 
of each ship 
from the offi- 
cers, and ap- 
pointed dele- 
gates from 
each vessel 
t o conduct 
negotiations 
with the Ad- 
miralty. No 
violence o r 
force w a s 
used. 

The Ad- 
miiralty see- 
with the great power in their hands 
the men had acted peaceably, only abstaining 
from work, yielded all the concessions asked ; and a 




The Sailors Manned the Yards and Rigging. 



iner that 



THE SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR. 131 

full pardon was granted in the King's name to the fleet 
in general, and to the ring leaders in particular. Then 
Lord Howe, always a popular officer with the men was 
sent with full power to ratify the concessions which 
had been made. He completely mollified the men, and 
even obtained from them an expression of regret and 
contrition for the outbreak. 

Lord Howe died on August 5, 1799, and a splendid 
monument was erected to his memory in St. Paul's 
Cathedral. 

As an instance of Lord Howe's presence of mind, 
his biographer relates that, 'Svhen captain of the Mag- 
nanimc, and serving off the coast of France, a gale of 
wind on a lee shore induced him to cast anchor. In 
the course of the night the wind raged violently, but 
Howe, having made all snug with two anchors ahead, 
went ofif deck to his cabin, where he took up a book. 
Presently, however, the lieutenant of the watch rushed 
down to him, and with woeful face said, T am sorry 
to inform you, my lord, that the anchors are coming 
home.' 

'' 'They are much in the right,' was the cu^'t reply. 
T don't know who would stay abroad such a iiiglit as 
this!'" 

When Howe was flag-captain of the Duke of York's 
ship, the Princess Amelia, he was asleep in his cabin 
when an officer appeared at his bedside in a state of 
great agitation, exclaiming : 

*'My lord, the ship is on fire close to the magazine ; 
but don't be frightened, my lord, it will soon be got 
under." 



132 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

"Frighterjed, sir! What do you mean by that? I 
never was frightened in my Hfe," repHed Howe. 

''Pray, sir, how does a man feel when he is fright- 
ened? I need not ask how he looks. I will be with 
you immediately; but take care that His Royal High- 
ness is not disturbed." 



HOWE'S VICTORY OFF USHANT 

(A. D. 1794.) 
ENGLISH AND FRENCH. 

IN the Spring of 1794, Lord Howe and the Channel 
fleet were ordered to put to sea to intercept a large 
French convoy, loaded with the produce of the 
French West India settlements. In addition to this duty 
the admiral was directed to proceed to Ushant to look 
after the French fleet that had sailed from Brest. 
Howe's flag-ship was the Queen Charlotte and with 
him was Admiral Sir Alexander Hood, a number of 
rear-admirals and a splendid list of fighting captains. 
The French fleet was sighted after cruising for sev- 
eral days, and on Sunday, June i , 1 794, the battle was 
joined. The number of ships in each fleet was about 
the same, but in number of guns and men, as well as in 
weight of metal, the advantage was with the French 
admiral, M. Villaret Joyeuse. 

The British fleet having the weather gage imme- 




Q St a Kings. 



133 



134 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

diately bore down on its opponents and about nine 
o'clock in the forenoon the French opened fire. Howe's 
own ship was the first to break through the enemy's 
hne and after receiving and returning the broadsides of 
the Achille and Vengeur, she luffed up under the stern 
of the Montague, into wdiich she poured a terrific fire. 
Howe was eager to lay his vessel alongside the for- 
midable adversary and ordered the master — an able, 
but rough seaman — to starboard his helm: ''If I do, 
my lord, we shall ran aboard the Jacobin,'' replied 
Bowen. 

"What is that to you," said Howe, quickly. 

"Oh, just as you please, / don't care if you don't," 
muttered Bowen. "I'll soon lay you near enough to 
singe some of our whiskers." 

Lord Howe smiled as he heard the growl, and turn- 
ing to his flag-captain, said : "That's a fine fellow, 
Curtis." 

The action was at its height at ten o'clock and by 
half past eleven the British were left with eleven, the 
French with twelve more or less dismasted ships. Six 
French ships were captured and one w^as sunk. 

One of the most remarkable encounters was between 
the Brunszi'ick and the Vengcur. As the English ship 
fell upon her opponent her anchors hooked into the 
Vengeiir's chain. The master of the Brimszvick asked 
Captain Harvey if they should cut adrift from the 
French ship, and the reply was : "No ; we have got her 
and we will keep her." Then followed one of the most 
determined actions on record. Eight of the Bnins- 
zvick's lower-deck ports were found to be jammed by 



HOWE'S VICTORY OFF USHANT. 135 

the Vcngciirs side. They were quickly hlown off and 
the muzzles of the opposing guns touched each other. 
The BrmiszmckhTvddi figure-head representing the Duke 
of Brunswick, with a laced hat on. During the battle 
the hat was shot away, and as the crew^ did not like to 
see the Duke's head uncovered in the face of an en- 
emy, they sent a deputation to the quarter-deck and 
asked Captain Harvey to order his servant to give 
them his laced cocked-hat. The request was granted 
and the carpenter nailed the captain's hat onto the 
figure-head and there it remained until the battle was 
over. 

\Miile fighting the Vcngcur, the Bnuisivick found 
time to knock the masts out of the Achillc, and compel 
her to strike her colors. After fighting for three hours 
the Brunswick and the Vengeiir separated and soon 
the latter displayed a union-jack in token of surrender. 
The former was with difficulty kept afloat, but the 
French ship w^as doomed. Every effort was made 
to save the crew of the sinking ship, but many went 
down w^ith her. 

Among the many incidents of the battle is one re- 
garding a young midshipman. He was exposed to so 
much danger on the flag-ship that Lord Howe advised 
him to go below. 

'AVhat would my father say, my lord, w^ere I not 
on deck during the action " replied the gallant lad. 

On account of his swarthy complexion, the sailors 
were accustomed to speak of Lord Howe as ''Black 
Dick." When the full extent of the victory was made 
known, the sailors of the Queen Charlottee insisted on 



136 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



being allowed to congratulate the Admiral. Howe re- 
ceived them on the quarter-deck and was so overcome 
by their hearty if rough address that he could not con- 
ceal his tears as he replied : ''No ! no ! it is / who should 
thank yon, my brave fellows; for it was you who won 
the battle." 





THE '^BLANCHE" AND THE ^' PIQUE" 

(A. T). 1795) 
ENGLISH AND FRENCH 

MANY encounters between single English and 
French ships took place in 1795, and one of the 
most memorable was that of the Blanche and 
the Pique. The Blanche, commanded by Captain 
Faulkener, while cruising in the West Indies, captured a 
French schooner under the guns of a fort on the Island 
of Desirade. Having disposed of his prize, Captain 
Faulkener cruised off Point-a Pitre, a harbor in Guad- 
aloupe, in which lay, ready for sea, the French thirty- 

137 



138 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

six gun frigate, Pique, with four hundred men on 
board. In order to entice his enemy to battle, Captain 
Faulkener, although his vessel carried but thirty-two 
guns of inferior metal, and the crew scarcely exceeded 
two hundred men, stood as near the enemy's fort as he 
prudently could. 

The Pique, answered the challenge; but when ap- 
proaching the Blanche, indicating a wavering inclina- 
tion for the fight, Captain Faulkener made towards an 
American schooner loaded with wine and brandy, and 
finding his enemy not disposed to prevent him from 
making the capture, and despairing of the Pique leav- 
ing the protection of the fort while the Blanche con- 
tinued in sight, he stood off towards the islands of 
Marie-Galante and Dominica ; and when between these 
islands, he, observing the Pique about two leagues 
astern, immediately made sail toward her. The 
Blanche being on the starboard tack, and the Pique on 
the larboard, as they passed each other they exchanged 
broadsides, and a desperate contest ensued. 

Captain Faulkener, while in the act of securing the 
enemy with a hawser, with which he had lashed her 
bowsprit to his own capstan, fell likeless from a musket 
ball which had pierced his heart. 

The lashing of the bowsprit having parted, soon 
afterwards the two ships separated ; but the Blanche 
soon fell on board the Pique. The bowsprit of the 
French ship was then lashed to the stump of the 
Blanche's mainmast, and in this manner a fire was kept 
up from both ships, but particularly from the Blanche's 
tops. The Blanche had no stern ports and after trying 




The Death of Captain Faulkener 



139 



140 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



in vain to cut them the two aftermost guns were fired 
through the stern frame, and from the openings thus 
made such a destructive fire was poured that shortly the 
Pique's mainmast fell. Having been for a long time 
unable to return a shot, some of the crew of the Pique 
ran out to the end of the bowsprit and called for 
quarter. ^ 

The Blouaie commenced the action with one hun- 
dred and ninety-eight men, and suffered a loss of eight 
killed and twenty-one wounded. The Pique out of a 
crew of four hundred had seventy-six killed and one 
hundred and five wounded ! 





SIR JOHN JEHVIS 

(A. D. 1735-1823) 

SIR JOHN JERVIS, Earl of St. Vincent, was born 
at Medford, in Staffordshire, England, January 
9, 1735. He was destined for the profession of the 
law, but early in life ran away to become a sailor. 

When England sent a combined military and naval 
expedition against the French settlements in Canada in 
1759, Jervis was in the Porcupine, and piloted the ships 
up the St. Lawrence River. General Wolfe was on 
the vessel, and on the night before the battle that gave 
Canada to the British, he sent for Jervis, and after 
telling him that he had a presentiment that he would 
not survive the battle on the morrow, gave him a min- 

141 



142 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

ature of the lady to whom he was devotedly attached, 
charging him, if he fell in the action, to return it to 
her. Upon his return to England, Jervis performed 
the melancholy duty. 

In 1778, Jervis commanded the Foudroyant, the 
finest two-decker in the British navy. Four years 
later he captured the French ship Pcgasc, a seventy- 
four carrying seven hundred men ; being rewarded for 
this exploit by being made Knight Commander of the 
Bath. In 1784 he entered Parliament. In 1793, he 
performed splendid services in the West Indies. Two 
years later, he became a full admiral, with command 
of the Mediterranean fleet, and in this position ren- 
dered important services to his government. This was 
the most brilliant part of Jervis' career — and under him 
were many officers who afterwards rose to high distinc- 
tion in the British navy. Nelson was one; Colling- 
wood another. 

On February 14, 1797, Jervis won his most cele- 
brated victory, defeating a Spanish fleet of thirty-nine 
ships, of which he captured four of the largest. For 
this great triumph he was created a peer and given the 
title of Earl of St. Vincent. A few months later he 
quelled a mutiny in his fleet when off Cadiz. In 1799, 
ill health compelled him to resign from the service, 
but he was afterwards placed in command of the Chan- 
nel fleet. He became the first lord of the admiralty in 
1 801 and was enabled to expose a vast extent of cor- 
ruption in the public service and to rectify the abuses 
that prevailed. In 1806, at the age of seventy-two, 
Lord St. Vincent headed an expedition to the Court of 



SIR JOHN JERVIS. 



143 



Portugal in which he displayed great talents and ad- 
dress. He retired from public life in 1807, and his 
death occurred on March 13, 1823. 




Sir John Jervis 



Jervis was not a genius like Nelson ; he could not win 
such victories as Nelson did, nor provoke such enthu- 
siasm among his followers, but he was a great organ- 



144 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

izer and commander-in-Ghief, and not the slightest de- 
tail in naval matters escaped his observation. 

One hot summer day his men had been bathing. 
One of them. Roger Odell, a favorite seaman of the 
Admiral, had jumped into the water with his clothes 
on, forgetting in the excitement of the moment that all 
his savings were in his trousers' pockets in bank-notes. 
The water reduced them to a useless pulp, and the man 
was in despair. Lord St. Vincent inquired into the 
matter and ascertained the amount of the man's loss. 
He said to his secretary, ''What can we do for Roger, 
Mr. Tucker, for he is a glorious fellow and an in- 
valuable seaman; can we give him a warrant?" Upon 
consulting the captain it was decided that this plan 
would be injudicious, as the man readily yielded to the 
temptation of intoxicating drinks. ''Well, something 
or other we must do for him," remarked the Admiral. 
A little later he had all hands assembled and in their 
presence accused Odell of "tarnishing the British oak 
with tears." The man was overwhelmed and pleaded 
the loss of all he had in the world in extenuation. 

"The loss of money, sir, can never be an excuse to 
a British seamen for tears. There could be bur one 
— which will never happen to you, Roger Odell — dis- 
grace." Then dropping his harsh tone the Admiral 
went on : 

"Roger Odell, you are one of the best men in this 
ship; you are, moreover, a captain of a top; and in 
my life I never saw a man behave himself better than 
you in the J^icfory did in the action with the Spanish 
fleet. To show, therefore, that your Commander-in- 




"There is Your Money, Sir, But No More Tears. 



145 



146 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

chief will never pass over merit, wheresoever he may 
find it, there is your money, sir, but no more tears, 
mind, no more tears, sir." The amount was about 
three hundred and fifty dollars of our money. 

"Thank ye, my lord, thank ye," stammered Odell, 
and then plunged into the crowd to hide his emotion. 



BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT 

(A. D. 1797) 
ENGLISH AND SPANIARDS 

ON February 14, 1797, the Spanish fleet was dis- 
covered, extending southwest to south of the 
Cape. The morning was foggy, and a clear 
view of the enemy could not be obtained until near 
eleven o'clock in the forenoon. Admiral Jervis, per- 
ceiving that the Spanish ships were much scattered, de- 
termined to pass between them and immediately made 
signals to that effect. Several of the English ships per- 
formed the manoeuvre and as they did so, poured 
double-shotted broadsides into the hostile ships. 

Horatio Nelson, who was then a commodore, ran 
his ship, the Captain, into the very midst of that part 
of the Spanish squadron that had been cut ofT, and 
closely engaged them. He ran her between the San- 
tissiiiia Trinidad a of one hundred and thirty-six guns 



THE BATTLE OP CAPE ST. VINCENT. 147 

— reported to be the largest ship in the world, and the 
San Josef of one hundred and twelve guns, and began 
to fire right and left. He poured broadsides into his 
heavy antagonists with great rapidity and tremendous 
effect, and maintained the unequal contest for a con- 
siderable time. Then Collingwood, in the Excellent, 
came to his assistance. Previously to this, Colling- 
wood had compelled the Salvador, a fine three decker, 
to haul down her colors. Then he swept on without 
taking possession of his prize, who hoisted her colors 
again and commenced firing. Another British ship 
'took possession of her, however. Collingwood then 
captured the San Ysidro, and then pressed on to where 
Nelson w^as engaged with his colossal antagonists. He 
got between the San Nicholas and the San Josef on 
one side and the Trinidada on the other; laid his ship 
alonside the San Nicholas and pounded her so effect- 
ively, that his shot passed through the two Spanish 
ships and struck Nelson's ship on the other side ! Then 
he engaged the Trinidada, which carried the flag of the 
Spanish Admiral Cordova. 

The San Josef and the San Nicholas ran afoul of 
each other, and Nelson, fell on board the latter. He 
rushed in, sword in hand, at the head of his officers 
and boarders ; and having carried her, proceeded to the 
San Josef which he took in the same gallant manner. 
He tells the story himself: 

'The first man who jumped into the enemy's mizen- 
chains was Captain Berry, my late first-lieutenant ; he 
was supported from our sprit-yard which w^as hooked 
on the mizen rigging. A soldier of the 69th regiment 



148 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

having broken the upper quarter-gallery window, I 
jumped in myself, and was followed by others as fast 
as possible. I found the cabin door fastened, and some 
Spanish officers fired their pistols; but having broken 
open the door, the soldiers fired, and the Spanish com- 
modore fell as he was retreating to the quarter-deck. 
I pushed onwards immediately for the quarter-deck, 
where I found Captain Berry in possession of the poop, 
and the Spanish flag hauling down. I passed with my 
people and Lieutenant Pearson along the larboard 
gangway to the forecastle, where I met two or three 
Spanish officers, prisoners to my seamen : they de- 
livered me their swords. A fire of pistols or muskets 
opening from the admirals' stern-galley of the San 
Josef, I instructed the soldiers to fire into her stern; 
and calling Captain Miller, ordered him to send more 
men into the San Nicolas, and directed my people to 
board the first-rate which was done in an instant. Cap- 
tain Berry assisting me into the main-chains. 

"At this moment a Spanish officer looked over the 
quarter-deck rail, and said they surrendered. From 
this most welcome intelligence it was not long before 
I was on the quarter-deck. The Spanish captain with a 
bow, presented me with his sword, and said the ad- 
miral was dying of his wounds. I asked him on his 
honor, if the ship was surrendered. He declared she 
was, on which I gave him my hand, and desired him 
to call on his officers and ship's company and tell them 
of it, which he did ; and on the quarter-deck of a Span- 
ish first-rate, extravagant as the story may seem, did 
I receive the swords of the vanquished Spaniards, 




Nelson Boarding the "San Nicholas" at Cape St. Vincent 

149 



150 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

which, as I received, I gave to WilHam Fearney, one 
of my bargemen, who put them under his arm with the 
greatest sang froid. 

"I was surrounded by Captain Berry, Lieutenant 
Pearson of the 69th, John Sykes, John Thompson, 
Francis Cook, all old Agamcmnons and several other 
brave men — sailors and soldiers. Thus fell these two 
ships, their captor, the Captain, lying alongside them a 
complete wreck." 

While Nelson had been thus engaged in making 
what he called ''a glorious St. \"alentine's day," the 
other ships of Jervis' squadron had been doing their 
duty, and when darkness set in, the British had won the 
day. Their fleet consisted of fifteen ships of-the-line, 
while the Spaniards had twenty-seven. During the 
night, both fleets lay-to to repair damages, and on the 
morning of the 15th each had re-formed his line of 
battle. Jervis sailed away with his prizes and the 
Spanish admiral did not molest him. Singularly, the 
captain who was sent home with the news of the vic- 
tory was the only one mentioned in the despatches, 
but it is a matter of history that when Jervis received 
Nelson in the Victory after the action, he clasped him 
in his arms, ail dirty and begrimed with smoke as he 
was, and with part of his hat shot away. \Mien Nel- 
son handed him the sword of the Spanish admiral, 
which he had obtained when he boarded the San Josef, 
Jervis returned it to him,, saying he was best entitled 
to wear it after he had so nobly won it, and that he 
could not sufficiently thank him for his gallant efforts 
during the battle. 




Nelson Eeceiving the Sword of the Spanish Captain 



151 




ADAM DUNCAN 

(A. D. 1731-1804) 

VISCOUNT DUNXWX was 1)oni at Lundie, in 
Forfarshire,, Scotland, July i, 1731. He re- 
ceived an education at Dundee; entered 
the navy in 1746 and was a midshipman three 
years later. He was a second lieutenant in 
the Noncich when that vessel was a part of the squad- 
ron that convoyed General Braddock's force to Amer- 
ica. Returning to England, he was second lieutenanl 
on the Torbay; saw service on the African coast, where 
he was wounded, and in 1759 became a commander. 
Two years later, he was a post-captain, and his ves- 
sel, the J^aliant was Commodore KeppeFs flagship in 
the expedition against Belleisle. In 176/. he took an 

152 



ADMIRAL DUNOAN. 



153 




Admiral Adam Duncan. 



important part in the capture of Havana. In 1780 he 
was with Rodney at Cape St. Vincent, and in the Mon- 



15J 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



arch, was the first to engage the Spanish squadron. 
Two years later he took part in Lord Howe's rehef of 
Gibraltar. In 1789 he was a rear-admiral of the blue: 

and later an 
^ -■^^'^'^^ ' iTT"*-?^^/ ^7~^ admiral o i 

the white. In 
1795 he was 
commander- 
in-chief o f 
the N o r t h 
Sea fleet. 

Shortly af- 
ter the mu- 
tiny at Ports- 
m out h, in 
1797, which 
was quelled 
by the judi- 
cious behav- 
ior of Lord 
Howe ; an- 
other broke 
out at the 
N o r e. A 
number of 
vessels be- 
longing to 

the squadron under Admiral Duncan, sent to block- 
ade the Texel, basely deserted their commander 
and joined the mutineers. Wdien Duncan found him- 
self deserted by the greater part of his fleet he called 




Admiral Duncan Addressing His Crew. 



THE BATTLE OF CAMPERDOWN. 155 

together the crew of his own ship, the Venerable, 
and made them an address so unassuming and 
patriotic that they were moved to tears and one and all 
declared they would stay by the Admiral in life or 
death. Their example was followed by all the other 
ships in the squadron, and the brave old admiral re- 
paired to his station off the coast of Holland to watch 
the movements of the Dutch fleet. He met it in Octo- 
ber of the same year and won the Battle of Camper- 
down, defeating the Dutch Admiral De Winter. 

Admiral Duncan resigned from the naval service of 
Great Britain in 1800. His death occurred August 4, 
1804. 



THE BATTLE OF CAMPERDOWN 

(A. D. 1797) 
ENGLISH AND DUTCH 

THE naval victory of the British over the Span- 
iards off Cape St. Vincent was followed by 
extraordinary naval preparations in Hol- 
land. Though not so numerous as the Spanish 
fleet just defeated, the Dutch ships were much 
better manned, and a contest for naval supre- 
macy between England and Holland was sure to be 
extremely obstinate. On October 11, 1797, the fleets 
met off the coast of Holland not far from the village of 



156 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

Camperdown, which is about twenty-two miles from 
the city of Amsterdam. 

Admiral Adam Duncan had been blockading the 
mouth of the Texel for some time, but was obliged to 
take the larger part of his ships to England, to refit, 
and in his absence the Dutch fleet commanded by Ad- 
miral De Winter came out. Duncan received this in- 
formation on October 9, and two days later he was back 
at his old station. The same day, he discovered the 
Dutch fleet for which he had been watching for two 
years. Sending for the captains of his ships to come 
on board the flagship for their final instructions, Dun- 
can said, as he pointed towards the Dutch fleet : 'There, 
gentlemen, you see a very severe Winter before you 
and I hope you will keep up a good fire." During the 
merriment which followed, his officers assured him 
that they would punctually follow his advice. 

The British admiral formed his fleet so as to prevent 
the enemy from regaining the Texel. The Dutch 
edged away for their own shore. At about half-past 
eleven, Duncan made the signal to break the enemy's 
line and get between it and the shore. The attack was 
made in two lines, and in less than half an hour the 
hostile line was broken. Vice- Admiral Onslow passed 
under the Dutch vice-admiral's stern, laid alongside of 
him and engaged the van of the Dutch fleet, and, hav- 
ing pierced its centre, laid himself alongside De Win- 
ter's flagship. At the same time, the battle became 
general,, each ship engaging its enemy yard-arm to 
yard-arm. For two hours and a half the battle lasted 
between the flagships, and it did not terminate until 



158 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

the Dutch ship had lost all her masts, and half her 
crew were either killed or wounded. The contest be- 
tween the two vice-admirals had been equally obsti- 
nate, and every British ship had been engaged in a 
furious combat with an antagonist. About four o'clock 
in the afternoon, the battle was over. Twelve ships 
and six thousand prisoners fell to the victors. Duncan 
started with his prizes for England, but in the tempes- 
tuous weather that ensued, two of the prizes escaped 
into the Texel, the prisoners overpowering' the prize 
crews, which had been placed on board. Another 
foundered while in tow of one of the English ships. 

It is related that the two admirals dined together on 
the afternoon o^ the day on which the battle was fought. 
In the course of the evening they played a game of 
cards together, when Duncan having won the game, 
De Winter with the greatest good humor remarked 
that, "it was very hard to be twice beaten in one day 
by the same opponent." 

The news of this great victory caused great joy and 
exultation in Great Britain. Admiral Duncan was 
created Lord Viscount Duncan of Camperdown and 
Baron of Lundie, with an annual pension of about fif 
teen thousand dollars. Vice-Admiral Onslow wa!^ 
made a baronet and two of the captains who partici- 
pated in the action, were knighted. A general illum- 
ination took place throughout the kingdom and the 
king went in state to St. Paul's where a general thanks- 
giving Avas held for the many and important victories 
obtained by his majesty's navy during the year. 




159 




HORATIO NELSON 

(A. D. 1758-1805) 

VISCOUNT HORATIO NELSON, one of the 
most famous of British admirals, was born at 
Barnham, in Suffolk county, England, on Sep- 
tember 29, 1758. He was the fifth son of Rev. Edmund 
Nelson, and received his baptismal name from the Earl 
of Oxford who was his godfather. 

The story of his life is best told in those of the 
three celebrated naval battles with which his name will 
be always connected — the Nile, Copenhagen, and Tra- 
falgar where he met a glorious death — but there are 

160 



LORD NELSON. 



161 



many instances in his career and anecdotes relating to 
him which are of the greatest interest. 

Nelson was sent to school at an early age and soon 
developed a love of adventure and a daring spirit. At 
one time, and while on a visit to his grandmother, he 
strayed away in search of birds' nests, and messengers 




The Birthplace of Nelson. 



were sent to find him. Upon his return his grand- 
mother said : 

**I wonder, child, that fear did not drive you home." 
''Fear, grandmama!" replied the boy, "I never saw 
fear; what is it," 

When but twelve years of age, Nelson asked that 
he might be allowed to go to sea with his uncle who 
commanded the Raisonablc, a ship of sixty-four guns. 



162 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



He was allowed to do so, but as the ship only remained 
in commission for five months he did not see much ser- 
vice in a king's ship. His next experience on the sea 




Viscount Horatio Nelson. 



was in a merchant ship trading with the West Ii\djes. 
He returned a practical seaman, well up in navigation, 
and when a polar expedition was fitted out, after- 



LORD NELSON. 



163 



wards, he was allowed to go along as coxswain, al- 
though orders had been issued that no boys we're to be 




Nelson's Adventure with the Bear. 

allowed on the ships. He had many adventures in 
the Arctic seas, and on one occasion stole away from 
the ship with a companion with the idea of killing a 



164 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

bear. They were missed from the ship and a signal for 
their return was at once made. Nelson's companion 
wanted to return, but they had found a bear and Nel- 
son wanted to kill it. Only a small rent in the ice 
separated them from the brute and this probably saved 
their lives for they had only a rusty old musket, and 
their ammunition was gone. They were in plain view 
of the ship, and Nelson's companion obeyed the signal 
and returned to it. Nelson stood his ground saying, 
"Do but let me get a blow at him with the butt end of 
my musket, and we shall have him." A gun was then 
fired from the ship to terrify the animal, and Nelson 
returned without his bear. When the captain repri- 
manded him he replied : "Sir, I wished to kill a bear, 
that I might carry its skin to my father." 

Nelson entered the navy and became a midshipman. 
His abilities were such that his superior officers had 
every confidence in his skill and judgment. He passed 
through the various grades of his calling and saw ser- 
vice in almost every quarter of the globe. On many oc- 
casions he gave proof of extraordinary energy and fer- 
tility of resource and also of a courage in danger which 
if rash was truly heroic. He became an expert in sea- 
manship and displayed a great aptitude for command 
in a variety of enterprises that were intrusted to him. 

Wliile a second lieutenant in the frigate Lozucstoffe, 
that ship captured a privateer. The first lieutenant 
was ordered to board her, but owing to the very heavy 
sea he did not do so at once, and the captain called out : 
''Have I no officer in the ship who can board the prize ?" 
The master started to perform the duty, but Nelson 




** Nelson Succeeded in Boarding the Prize.'* 

11 Se<^ A7/i(,s 165 



160 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

Stopped him, saying, ''It is my turn now ; and if I 
come back it is yours." After great difficulty he suc- 
ceeded in boarding the prize. 

While in the Badger, in 1779, Nelson had an op- 
portunity to show his humane disposition as well as 
his presence of mind. The Glasgow, lying in the same 
bay, was discovered to be on fire. Nelson manned the 
Badger's boats, and forced the crew of the Glasgow, 
most of whom had thrown themselves into the sea, 
to return to their ship. The ship was burning with 
great rapidity, and as the guns were momentarily ex- 
pected to explode he directed the crew to throw their 
powder overboard and point their guns upwards. By 
this means he prevented a terrible loss of life; as it 
was, only one man was lost, but the ship was burned 
to the water's edge. 

Early in the year 1784 Nelson received the command 
of the Boreas, a frigate of twenty-eight guns, and on 
joining his ship was pleased to find no less than thirty 
young midshipmen on board. Among them were some 
who were timid, and to show that he desired nothing of 
them that he would not do himself Nelson would say to 
one of them, "Well, sir, I am going a race to the mast- 
head, and beg I may meet you there." WHien they met 
in the top, Nelson would say how much a person was 
to be pitied that could fancy there was danger in such 
an undertaking, and so one timid youth would lead an- 
other and repeat his captain's words to him. 

Nelson was made a post-captain in 1799; a promo- 
tion due to merit alone, and for the next few years was 
actively employed. His reputation was steadily grow- 



LORD NELSON. 



167 



ing and he was regarded as ''a boy captain with an 
enthusiasm that showed he was no common being." 
He was in the West Indies for several years, and when 
war between 
E^ngland and 
France was de- 
clared in 1793, 
he was made 
captain of the 
A g a in e in n n 
the largest ship 
he had ever 
c o m m a n d e d , 
This was on 
the re c o m- 
mendation of 
Lord Howe, a 
veteran who 
held him in the 
highest esteem. 
He went with 
Lord Hood to 
the Mediter- 
ranean, a n d 
though his ves- 
sel .was one of 
the worst in the 
fleet, he per- 
formed feats of 
daring and per- 
fect seaman- a Race to the Mast-head. 




168 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

ship which gained him applause and distinction. He 
was always considerate of his crews and while they 
were at anchor in English harbors, encouraged music 
and dancing on board his ship. 

With a detachment of sailors who, when led by him, 
in his own words, "minded shot as little as peas." he 
took a prominent part in the siege of Bastia ; and the 
capitulation of the place was due, for the most part, 
to their determined valor. After the siege of Calvi, 
where Nelson lost his right eye, the English fleet had an 
engagement with a superior force of French ships and 
forced them to retire. Nelson, in the Againcinnon 
pursued the retiring enemy so boldly that he nearly 
destroyed the French ship Melpomene, besides keep- 
ing the whole hostile squadron at bay. 

At the battle of Cape St. Vincent Nelson was in the 
Captain as commodore. He boarded and took two 
ships, each larger than his own, leading his cheering 
crew to the cry of 'AVestminster Abbey or Victory !" 
For his splendid success in this battle, Nelson w^as made 
a rear-admiral. 

The Spanish fleet withdrew to Cadiz, followed by 
the English fleet who blockaded it so closely that not 
a ship dared to venture beyond the protection of its 
batteries. In July, Lord St. Vincent sent the Thunder, 
a bomb- vessel, to throw some shells into the town and 
a number of Spanish gun-boats came out to capture 
her. Nelson, with a similar force, immediately closed 
with them. The combat was obstinate, both sides be- 
having with the greatest valor. Don Miguel Tyrason, 
in his barge, attempted to capture Nelson's smaller boat, 



LORD NELSON. 



169 



and a hcMid-to-hand conflict ensued in which the two 
commanders took a conspicuous part. Nelson re- 




John Sykes Saving Nelson's Lue. 



garded this affair as the greatest trial of his personal 
courage he had ever met. In one of his letters at 
this time, he says : 



170 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

"In an attack of the Spanish gun-boats I was boarded 
in my barge, with its common crew of ten men, cox- 
swain. Captain Freemantle and myself, by the com- 
mander of the gun-boat. The Spanish barge rowed 
twenty-six oars, besides ofiicers — thirty in the whole ; 
this was a service hand-to-hana, wath swords, in which 
my coxswain, John Sykes, twice saved my life. 
Eighteen of the Spaniards being killed, and several 
wounded, we succeeded in taking their commander." 

In the same year. Nelson lost an arm in an attack on 
Santa Cruz, on the island of Tenerifife, a place cele- 
brated for one of Admiral Blake's great victories. The 
attack was made in the boats of the squadron, and 
Nelson received a severe wound in the right elbow as he 
w^as in act of drawing his sword and stepping out of his 
boat on to the Mole of Santa Cruz. This sword he 
particularly valued as it had been presented to him by 
an uncle who told him never to part with it but with 
life, and he constantly wore it. Recovering from the 
shock of the wound, he groped for and recovered the 
sword, and then fell insensible in the bottom of the 
boat. Eventually the arm was amputated and shortly 
afterward Nelson returned to England on leave of ab- 
sence. 

In 1798, Admiral Nelson raised his flag on board the 
Vanguard, Captain Berry, and joined Lord St. Vin- 
cent. In May of the same year he was sent to inter- 
cept a great French armament which was intended 
for Egypt. He set sail, but in the Gulf of Lyons his 
squadron was crippled by a gale in which the Van 
guard was nearly lost. Shortly after midnight her 




Nelson Wounded at Santa Cruz. 



171 



172 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

main-top-mast went over the side, and the mizen-top- 
mast soon followed. The night was so tempestuous 
that it was impossible for any signal to be seen or 
heard, and Nelson was obliged to sail before the gale. 
Early in the morning the foremast went in three pieces, 
and the bowsprit was found to be sprung in three 
places. She rode out the gale, however, and during the 
day was towed into a Sardinian harbor. After refitting 
his ships, Nelson sailed in search of the French fleet, 
but did not find them until August i. The French fleet 
lay in front of the roads of Aboukir, the rear supported 
by coast batteries, the centre and van more out at sea, 
but composed of new and formidable ships; and as 
shoals stretched between it and the shore, the French 
Admiral Brueys believed that no foe could attack him 
from that side. Nelson, however, was a dexterous pilot 
from boyhood, and saw that the feat was practicable. 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE 

(A. D. 1798) 
ENGLISH AND FRENCH 

FOR many preceding days, Nelson had hardly tak- 
en either sleep or food ; he now ordered dinner 
to be served while preparations were being made 
for the battle. As his officers rose from the table to take 
their separate stations, he said to them, "Before this 



LORD NELSON. 



173 



time to-morrow I shall have gained a peerage, or West- 
minster Abbey." When Captain Berry was informed 
of the intended plan of attack, he exclaimed in delight, 
"If we succeed, what will the world say?" 

'There is no if in the case," replied Nelson; "that we 




Nelson's Flagship, the ''Vanguard. 



shall succeed is certain ; who may live to tell the story is 
a very different question." 

The Vanguard anchored in deep water, and opened a 
destructive fire on the enemy, to cover the approach of 
the Minotaur, BcUcrophon, Defence and the Majestic, 
which vessels passed ahead of the Admiral's flag-ship. 
The Minotaur anchored ahead of the Vanguard and 
took from her some of the enemy's fire; the Bellerophon 



174 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

meanwhile engaging the V Orient, m\ enormous ship far 
outclassing her in size, and in weight of metal. The 
Defence took her station ahead of the Minotaur, fight- 
ing the Le Franklin, the flagship of Admiral du Che- 
laid, and the Majestic, becoming entangled in the rig- 
ging of one of the enemy, swung clear and engaged the 
L'Hetireiix, receiving at the same time the devastating 
lire of the Le Tonnant, which wrought great havoc 
aboard her. 

Admiral Blanquet in his account of the engagement 
between U Orient, the flag-ship of Admiral Brueys, and 
the Bellerophon, said : *'At eight o'clock at night, the 
ship which was engaging U Orient on the starboard 
quarter, notwithstanding her advantageous position, 
was dismasted, and so roughly treated that she cut her 
cables, and drove rather far from the line; but at this 
very moment, the two ships that had been perceived 
astern of the fleet, and were quite fresh, steered right 
for the centre; the action in this part then became ex- 
tremely warm." 

At length the L'Orient struck her colors, and ap- 
peared in flames. The French Admiral had supported 
the honor of his flag with undiminished firmness; he 
had previously sustained three desperate wounds, one 
of which was upon his head, yet could not be persuaded 
to quit his station on the arm-chest. Admiral Blanquet 
says of the conduct of the French officers : "Admiral 
de Brueys received a shot which almost cut him in two ; 
he desired not to be carried below, but to be left to die 
upon deck ; he survived only a quarter of an hour. The 
men of the L'Orient, who had escaped death, convinced 



176 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

of the impossibility of extinguishing the flames, en- 
deavored to save themselves." 

Casabianca, the captain of the flagship was mortally 
wounded ; his son, only ten years old, who during the 
action gave proofs of bravery and intelligence far 
above his age, would not leave him, and both perished 
in the final explosion. 

"Lc Franklms decks were covered with red hot iron, 
pieces of timber and rope on fire. This ship was on fire 
the fourth time, but providentially we got it under. 
Immediately after the explosion of UOricnt, the battle 
everywhere ceased, and was succeeded by thick clouds 
of black smoke, which seemed to threaten the destruc- 
tion of both fleets. It was a quarter of an hour before 
the crew recovered from the kind of stupor they were 
thrown into." 

On Friday morning the French flag was still ob- 
served to be flying on the stump of Lc Tonnanfs main- 
mast . The admiral immediately made a signal to the 
Theseus and Leander to attack her. At their aproach, 
a flag of truce was raised and an officer being sent from 
the Theseus, the colors were struck. The protracted 
defence of the Tonnant, commanded by Commodore 
Auber du Petit Thouars, must ever form a brilliant epi- 
sode in the naval history of that officer's country . The 
Tonnant was stationed in the action immediately astern 
of the French Admiral in L'Orient; and the heroic ex- 
ample of the commanding officers was closely emulated 
by Du Petit Thouars, his officers and crew. At about 
seven o'clock, the Tonnant was engaged within pistol- 
shot by the Majestic; the Tonnant, being very superior 
in weight of metal to the Majestic, inflicted upon that 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. 



Ul 



ship very severe loss ; but the contest continued for an 
hour and a half, when, finding her stern anchor not 
holding, the Majestic slipped her cable, and letting go 
a bow anchor brought her head to the wind. 

At about this time UOricnt took fire, and the Ton- 
nant, to avoid the same fate, cut her cable, and brought 




The *'Le Tonnant" Dismasted. 



up again at some distance from her former position. 
At midnight the guns of the Tonnant, of all the French 
ships, were alone to be heard; and her shot told with 
effect on the Szinftsure, and other ships near her. The 
Majestic however, continued her more immediate op- 
ponent. At 3 a. m., just as the Toiuiant's fire had 
brought down the main and mizen masts of the Majes- 



178 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

ttc, her own three masts went by the board. The wreck 
of her masts for a time silenced the fire of the ship, yet 
Du Petit Thonars still disdained to surrender, but from 
a second change of position her antagonists were all for 
the time out of reach. 

The sufferings of the French commodore had, mean- 
while, been excessive ; both his arms were shot away, 
also one leg, but he still refused to quit the deck, and to 
stop the flow of blood, a large tub, generally used for 
washing decks, was filled with water, into which his 
mutilated extremities were dipped. Dying, his last 
commands to those about him were not to surrender the 
ship ; but as to sacrifice the gallant remains of a noble 
ship's company was foreign to the feelings of the offi- 
cer who succeeded to the command of the ship, the Ton- 
nant was surrendered. The officer in command wished 
to make some conditions with Nelson in favor of the 
gallant defenders of the ship, but this could not be com- 
plied with, and the Tonnant became an additional tro- 
phy of the victory. 

Nor did the renowned flag of Nelson triumph with- 
out its share of peril. The admiral himself was dread- 
fully wounded in the head. Seven of the bow guns of 
the Vanguard had been three times cleared, and one re- 
peatedly, of the men stationed there, who were either 
dead, or desperately wounded. The brave Captain 
Taddy of the marines fell with many of his men. The 
decks of the Vanguard streamed with blood. Twenty- 
seven of her crew were killed and sixty-eight wounded. 

The victory was complete, but Nelson would have 
pursued it farther had he the means. In his despatches 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. 179 

to the Admiralty he said : "Were I to die this moment, 
want of frigates would be engraven on my heart. No 
words of mine can express what I have suffered, and am 
suffering for want of them." 

The captains of the English fleet, desirous of testify- 
ing to the high sense they entertained of Rear Admiral 
Nelson's prompt decision and intrepid conduct in this 
attack on the French fleet off the Nile, requested his ac- 
ceptance of a sword, which he afterward did accept, the 
hilt of which sword was an appropriate emblematical 
device, representing a crocodile. 

Amongst the many tokens of regard presented to 
Nelson after his victory, was a very singular one sent 
by Captain Hallowell of the Szviftsm'e. It was a coflin 
made of- the mainmast of the UOrient! Nelson re- 
ceived this extraordinary present with the utmost 
cordiality. He kept it for some time in his cabin, and 
then, at the entreaties of an old and favorite servant 
had it removed below, giving strict orders that it should 
be safely stowed and reserved for the purpose designed 
for it. 

Nelson received a peerage for his great victory and 
the rank of vice-admiral. He also received a pension 
of ten thousand dollars from the English Government 
and many honors from princes and powers to whom his 
victory gave a respite. 

After the battle of the Nile, Captain Berry was sent in 
the Leander, Captain Thompson, to Lord Vincent with 
despatches announcing the great victory. On August 
1 8, the Lcandcr fell in with the Gcncrcnx, one of the 
French ships that had escaped from the battle. 



"LEANDER" AND "GENEREUX" 

(A. D. 1798) 
FRENCH AND ENGLISH 

SEEING the disabled state of the Lcandcv, the Gen- 
crcux bore down upon her; but although Cap- 
tain Thompson was eighty men short of his com- 
plement, and several of his crew had been wounded 
at the battle of the Nile, he determined to fight 
his ship as long as he could. The Gcncrcux fired a 
shot ahead and the Lcandcr answered by bringing 
her broadside to bear and keeping up a vigorous can- 
nonade. A severe action ensued, which lasted from 
nine in the morning until half-past three in the 
afternoon, when the Lcandcr became wholly unman- 
ageable, not a stick standing but the shattered re- 
mains of her fore and main-masts, and the bowsprit; 
her hull cut to pieces ; her deck covered with the dead 
and wounded ; and herself hardly able to float. She 
was compelled to strike her colors, but before this was 
done. Captain Berry threw his despatches into the sea, 
so that the British Government had no intelligence of 
the decisive battle of August i, until October 2, when a 
messenger who had been sent overland, arrived in Lon- 
don with duplicates of the despatches. 

After the battle of the Nile, Nelson proceeded to 
Naples where he was hailed as the savior of the king- 

180 



"LEANDER" AND "GENEREUX. 



181 



dom. He remained for some time in the Mediterra- 
nean and then went to England in 1800. The following- 
year he was called upon to perform another service in 
which his great qualities again became manifest. 




The "Leander" and the *'Genereux." 



While in England, Lord Nelson gave a dinner in his 
cabin to celebrate the anniversary of the battle of Cape 
St. Vincent. A young officer who was present tells 

22 'S'fa Kings. 



182 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

that Tom Allen, Lord Nelson's servant, was sent with 
the invitation : 

'' 'You are to dine with my lord to-day.' 

" T cannot, Tom, for I have no clean shirt, and we 
have been so long cruising off Malta, that my mess- 
mates are in the same plight.' 

" 'But you must, for my lord insists on meeting all 
them that were at the battle of St. Vincent at dinner this 
day.' 

" 'Make the best excuse you can for me, Tom, for I 
really cannot go.' 

*'Away waddled Tom, very much like a heavy laden 
ship before the wind, and the best excuse the simplicity 
of his mind suggested was the truth. 

" 'Mister So-and-So has no clean shirt, and he can't 
dine with you to-day.' 

" 'What ship was he in, Tom?' 

" 'The Barncnr: 

" 'Then tell him to appear in my cabin in the one he 
now has on, and he may send the first clean one that 
comes into his possession for me to look at.' 

"Nelson then discussed with his captain the position 
of affairs, and afterwards proceeded to adorn himself 
with the hard-won honors that were to adorn his per- 
son this gala day. The tune of the 'Roast Beef of Old 
England' now struck on the young midshipman's ear, 
and he, being the youngest, was singled out by Nelson 
to sit on his right, and he took wine with him during 
the dinner. He afterwards observed to him : 'You en- 
tered the service at a very early age, to have been in the 
action off Cape St. Vincent.' 



"LEANDER" AND "GENBREUX." 



183 



" ^Eleven years, my lord.' 

" 'Much too young/ muttered his lordship. 

"At this moment, honest Tom Allen pushed in his 







w\ 


k 


y 


\ 

v 


L 


t 


, 


■ ' / '^^muf^-s^f I^^^'*7^^M 










1 


N^ 


a^Z2^^^^fe^ 


^ 


i*- * m^^^^^M 










w 


F7r^ 


^^H 


H 


\mk '^'^'ii^^H^H^H 










i 


* 




^^^P 








- 




J 


liU 


^ 


fl 


IB^fe ^fcjw» '^^^' " 


~^-i-.,„ 








^ 


" 




•-1 



Arrival of the Admiral's Guests. 

bullet head with an eager gaze at his master, and after 
a little consideration approached the Admiral, saying, 
'You will be ill if you take any more wine.' 

'You are perfectly right, Tom, and I thank you for 



^i (- 



184 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

the hint. Hardy, do the honors. And, gentlemen, ex- 
cuse me for retiring, for my battered old hulk is very 
crazy — ,indeed, not seaworthy.' " 



THE BATTLE OF COPENHAGEN 

(A. D. 1801) 
ENGLAND AND DENMARK 

RUSSIA, Denmark and Sweden having formed a 
coalition to make England resign her naval 
rights, the British Cabinet instantly prepared to 
crush it. A fleet was gotten ready, and Admiral Sir 
Hyde Parker was made commander-in-chief with Lord 
Nelson second in command. 

On March 12, 1801, the fleet put to sea, but did not 
arrive off the point of Elsinore until the 24th. On the 
29th, Lord Nelson shifted his flag from the St. George 
to the Elephant in order to carry on operations in a 
lighter ship. On the 30th the fleet passed the fortress 
of Cronenburg which had been looked upon as impreg- 
nable. In a letter Lord Nelson spoke of the passage : 

"We this morning passed the fancied tremendous 
fortress of Cronenburg, mounted with two hundred 
and seventy pieces of cannon. More powder and shot 
I believe never were thrown away, for not one shot 
struck a single ship of the British fleet. Some of our 



THE BATTLE OF COPENHAGEN. 185 

ships fired; but the Elephant did not return a single 
shot. I hope to reserve them for a better occasion. I 
have just been reconnoitering the Danish Hne of de- 
fense. It looks formidable to those who are children at 
war, but to my judgment, with ten sail-of-the-line I 
think I can annihilate them ; at all events, I hope to be 
allowed to try." 

The morning of April 2 broke cheerfully on the Brit- 
ish fleet and the wind was also favorable for them. As 
the clouds cleared away, the city of Copenhagen could 
be plainly discerned. All captains were called on board 
the Elephant and received their instructions for the at- 
tack. A flat-bottomed boat, well manned and armed, 
was stationed on the off-side of every ship, and the 
bomb vessels were stationed outside the British lines, so 
as to throw their shells over them into the town. 

At half-past 9 a. m. the signal to weigh was 
made. Two of the ships grounded, but the remainder, 
as they reached their appointed stations, let go their an- 
chors and presented their broadsides to the enemy. 
Shortly after ten o'clock the cannonade began. Ad- 
miral Parker, with eight ships, took up a position nearer 
to the mouth of the harbor. The action was kept up, 
on both sides, with unabated vigor, and for three 
hours no decided advantage was gained by either side. 
Some of the ships had grounded and Admiral Parker 
made a signal for retreat. When this occurred, Nelson 
in all the excitement of action, was pacing the quarter- 
deck. At that moment, the signal-lieutenant called out 
that No. 39 — the signal for discontinuing the action — 
had been made by the commander-in-chief. Nelson 



186 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

continued to walk the deck apparently not noticing the 
announcement. The signal officer met him at the next 
turn and asked if he should repeat it. ''No," replied 
Nelson; ''acknowledge it." He then paced the deck, 
moving the stump of his lost arm in a manner which 
always indicated great emotion, and then turned to 
Captain Foley. "What think you, Foley?" said he! 
"The admiral has hung out 39." Then shrugging his 
shoulders, he said, "Leave off action? You know 
Foley, as I have only one eye, I have a right to be blind 
sometimes." And then, putting the glass to his blind 
eye, he added : 

"I really don't see the signal. Keep mine for closer 
battle flying — that's the way I answer such signals. 
Nail mine to the mast." 

Admiral Graves and the other ships — whether by 
fortunate mistake, or by a brave intention — looking 
only to Nelson's signal continued the action. After the 
battle Nelson said : "\\^ell, I have fought contrary to 
orders, and I shall perhaps be hanged. Never mind — 
let them." 

The battle continued, and soon a shot passed through 
the main-mast of the Elephant, Nelson turned to a 
companion, and with a smile said : "It is warm work, 
and this day may be the last to any of us in a moment ; 
but mark me, I would not be elsewhere for thousands." 

About half-past one, the fire of the Danes slackened, 
and a little before two, it ceased along nearly the whole 
of their line. Six of their ships and eleven floating bat- 
teries struck their colors, but it was difficult to take pos- 
session of them because of the protection afforded by 



188 SEA KINGS AND NAVAT. HEROES. 

the land batteries which fired upon the boats sent to re- 
ceive the surrender. This unexpected renewal of hos- 
tilities compelled the English ships to renew their fire, 
but to relieve the unhappy Danes who had hauled down 
their flag Nelson wrote to the Crown Prince of Den- 
mark saying that if the firing continued he should be 
obliged to burn the prizes, without having the power to 
save the men who had so nobly defended their coun- 
try. Having finished his letter, an aide-de-camp handed 
him a wafer. "No," said Nelson, ''this is no time to 
appear hurried and informal ; they will think us afraid ; 
let us have a candle, and seal it with wax." Having 
affixed a larger seal than usual, he sent the letter to the 
Crown Prince under a flag of truce. 

Meanwhile, Admiral Parker's division had silenced 
the remainder of the Danish line to the eastward, and 
soon the Danish Adjutant-General appeared with a flag 
of truce to Lord Nelson. The Crown Prince wished 
to inquire the object of the British admiral's note. With 
the reply that the object of the note was humanity, the 
envoy returned. Eventually negotiations were ar- 
ranged and Nelson went on shore and dined with the 
Crown Prince. At the repast he spoke in glowing terms 
of the bravery of the Danes, and in particular of that of 
a stripling who he said had performed wonders during 
the battle. He asked to be introduced to the gallant 
youth, who, on a raft carrying six small cannon, and 
manned by twenty-four men, had, in the fury of battle, 
placed themselves under the stern of Nelson's ship, and 
gallantly maintained the contest until twenty of them 



THE BATTLE OF COPENHAGEN. 



189 



were killed, and the commander was surrounded with 
the dead and dying. The youth's name was Villemoes, 
and when he was presented to Nelson, the British ad- 
miral intimated 
to the Prince 
that he should 
make him an 
admiral. In re- 
ply, the prince 
said: "If, my 
lord, I were to 
make my brave 
officers a d - 
miralSv I should 
have no cap- 
tains or lieuten- 
ants in my ser- 
vice." 

Captain Riou, 
one of Nelson's 
favorite c a p- 
tains, was 
killed at the battle of Copenhagen. He had been 
wounded by a splinter, and was sitting on a gun en- 
couraging the sailors. When Admiral Hardy made the 
signal to discontinue the action, Riou reluctantly 
obeyed, saying, ''What will Nelson think of us?" While 
sitting on the gun a number of his men were shot down 
by his side, and he had just exclaimed, ''Come, then, 
my boys, let us die together," when a shot cut him 
nearly in two. Nelson said of him, "A better officer or 




**He Affixed a Larger Seal than Usual.' 



190 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

man never existed." A monument to Riou was erected 
in St. Paul's Cathedral. 

When war with France was renewed in 1803, Nelson 
w^as appointed to the command of the Mediterranean 
fleet. He took his station off Toulon, and for nearly 
two years kept the French fleet in port. The French 
Admiral, Villeneuve, finally got out, and then Nelson 
chased him through the Mediterranean, and to the West 
Indies and back again. In 1805, he joined Admiral 
Cornwallis off Ushant, and from there proceeded to 
England, where he found in the retirement of his 
home at Merton, relief from the fatigue and cares of 
his long and arduous services. But he was not long to 
remain in peace and quiet. News of the French fleet 
was brought to him and he immediately left for Ports- 
mouth where he was rowed to his ship, the Victory in 
the sight of an immense throng who had gathered to 
look upon the hero of England. By daybreak on Oc- 
tober 21, the French fleet was descried off the Cape of 
Trafalgar. With the Spanish fleet added, Villeneuve 
had thirty-three vessels, while Nelson had twenty- 
seven. 



THE BATTLE OF TEAFALGAE 

(A. D. 1805) 
ENGLAND AGAINST FRANCE AND SPAIN 

THE English fleet was formed into two columns, 
the northern led by Nelson in the Victory, the 
southern under Collingwood in the Royal Sov- 
ereign. Villeneuve, a skilful seaman though a timid 
leader had arranged his ships ably to meet the attack. 
Soon after daylight Nelson came upon deck and was 
greeted with three cheers. 

Nelson appeared in the coat which he had so often 
worn on the day of victory; various splendid honors 
which he had received from different nations were 
borne on the left breast. "In honor I gained them," he 
exclaimed, "and in honor I will die with them." Hav- 
ing seen that all was as it should be, he retired to his 
cabin and commended himself to the great God whom 
he worshipped and then made several entries in his 
diary which he called Captain Blackwood and Captain 
Hardy to witness. 

In his memoir Captain Blackwood says : "During 
the five hours and a half that I remained on board the 
Victory, in which I was not ten minutes from his side, 
he frequently asked me 'what I would consider a vic- 
tory?' My answer was that if fourteen ships were 

191 



192 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

captured, it would be a glorious result; to which he 
replied, 'I shall not, Blackwood, be satisfied with any- 
thing short of twenty.' " 

Not long after. Nelson's last well-known signal was 
made: "England expects every man will do his duty." 

Nelson's column was steered about two points more 
to the north than Collingwood's in order to cut off the 
enemy's escape into Cadiz: the lee line, therefore, was 
first engaged, the enemy beginning to fire on the Royal 
Sovereign at thirty minutes past eleven o'clock. 

"See," cried Nelson, pointing to the Royal Sovereign 
as she steered right for the centre of the enemy's line, 
cut though it astern of the Santa Anna three decker, 
and engaged her at the muzzle of her guns on the star- 
board side: "See how that noble fellow, Collingwood, 
carries his ship into action!" Collingwood, defighted 
at being first in the heat of the fire, and knowing the 
feelings of his commander and old friend, turned to his 
captain, and exclaimed, "Rotherham, what would Nel- 
son give to be here." 

Nelson, as usual, had hoisted several flags, lest one 
should be shot away. The enemy showed no colors un- 
til late in the action, when they began to feel the neces- 
sity of having them to strike. For this reason the San- 
tissinia Trinidad a, Nelson's old acquaintance, as he used 
to call her, was distinguishable only by her four decks ; 
and to the bow of this opponent he ordered the Vietory 
to be steered. iMeanwhile an incessant raking fire was 
kept up on the Vietory. 

The Admiral's secretary, Mr. Scott, was one of the 
first who fell ; he was killed by a cannon shot while 



THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR; 



193 



conversing with Captain Hardy. Captain Adair of the 
marines, with the help of a sailor, endeavored to re- 
move the body from Nelson's sight, who had a great re- 



H 


# ^ 






, 


^ 


ii:Sa^^. -J 


'<-.v9p^n| 


t 


m 





Blackwood and Hardy Witnessed the Entries. 



gard for Mr. Scott; but he anxiously asked, "Is that 
poor Scott that's gone?" and being informed that it was 
so, exclaimed, "poor fellow!" Presently a double- 



194 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

headed shot struck a party of marines, who were drawn 
up on the poop, and killed eight of them ; upon which 
Nelson immediately desired Captain Adair to disperse 
his men round the ship, that they might not suffer so 
much from being together. A few minutes afterwards 
a shot struck the fore-brace bits on the quarter-deck, 
and passed between Nelson and Hardy, while they were 
in conversation, a splinter from the bit, tearing off 
Hardy's buckle and bruising his foot. Both stopped 
and looked anxiously at each other, each supposing the 
other to be wounded. 

Nelson smiled, and said, 'This is too warm work, 
Hardy to last long," and declared that "through all the 
battles he had been in, he had never witnessed more 
cool courage than was displayed by the Victory's crew 
on this occasion," for the Victory had not yet returned 
a single shot; fifty of her men had by this time been 
killed or wounded, and her main-top mast, with all her 
studding sails and their booms, shot away. At four 
minutes after twelve she opened fire from both sides of 
her deck. It was not possible to break the enemy's line 
without running on board one of their ships. Hardy 
informed Nelson of this, and asked him which he would 
prefer. 

Nelson replied, 'Take your choice , Hardy, it does not 
signify much." 

The master was ordered to put the helm to port, and 
the Victory ran on board the Redoubtable, just as her 
tiller ropes were shot away. The French ship received 
her with a broadside ; then instantly let down her lower 
deck ports, for fear of being boarded through them, and 



THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 



195 



never afterward fired a great gun during the action. 
Her tops, like those of the enemy's ships, were filled 




The Battle of Trafalgar. 

with riflemen. Nelson never placed musketeers in his 
tops ; he had a strong dislike to the practice ; not merely 



196 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

because it endangered setting fire to the sails, but also 
because it was a murderous sort of warfare. 

Captain Harvey, in the Temcrairc, fell on board the 
Redoubtable on the other side. Another enemy was in 
a like manner on board the Teuieraire; so that these 
four ships formed as compact a tier as if they had been 
moored together, their heads lying all the same way. 
The lieutenants of the Victory, seeing this, depressed 
the guns on the middle and lower decks, and fired a 
diminished charge, lest the shot should pass through, 
and injure the Temerairc. And because there was dan- 
ger that the Redoubtable should take fire from the 
lower deck guns, the muzzles of which touched her 
sides when they were run out, the fireman of each gun 
stood ready with a bucket of water, which as the gun 
was discharged, he dashed into the hole made by the 
shot. An incessant fire was kept up from the Victory 
from both sides; her larboard guns playing upon the 
Bncentaur and the huge Santissima Trinidada. 

It hadbeen a part of Nelson's prayer, that the British 
fleet might be distinguished by humanity in the victory 
which he expected. Setting an example himself, he 
twice gave orders to cease firing upon the Redoubtable, 
supposing she had struck, because her great guns were 
silent ; for, as she carried no flag, there was no means 
of instantly ascertaining the fact. 

At fifteen minutes past one, and a quarter of an hour 
before the Redoubtable struck, Nelson and Captain 
Hardy were walking near the middle of the quarter- 
deck; the Admiral had just commended the manner in 




23 "S^^t Kings. 



" They Have Done For Me at Last 



197 



198 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

which one of the ships near him was fought, when Cap- 
tain Hardy left him to give some necessary directions. 

A few minutes later, Captain Hardy observed a 
marksman in the rigging of the Buccntaur taking de- 
liberate aim at Nelson. He called to him to change 
his position, but at the same instant a bullet struck the 
Admiral. Nelson was prevented from falling by Cap- 
tain Hardy and a seaman who caught him in their 
arms. The marksman was instantly brought down by 
a well directed shot from a young midshipman on the 
Victory. 

"Hardy," said Nelson, ''I believe they have don-e for 
me at last." 

*'I hope not," cried Hardy. 

"Yes," he replied, "my backbone is shot through." 

It was soon perceived, upon examination, that the 
wound was mortal. This was concealed, however, 
from all except Captain Hardy, the chaplain and the 
medical attendants. 

"You can be of no use to me, Beatty," said Nelson ; 
"go and attend those whose lives can be preserved." 

In this state of suffering, with nothing but havoc, 
and death and misery around him, the spirit of Nelson 
remained unsubdued. His mind continued intent on 
the great object that was always before him, his duty 
to his country. 

\Y\i\\ a wish to support his spirits, that had in a de- 
gree been shaken by the increased pain and excessive 
thirst which he had to endure, the surgeon said, "I still 
hope, my lord, you will carry the glorious news home." 

"Don't talk nonsense," replied the Admiral, "one 



THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 199 

would indeed like to live a little longer, but I know it 
to be impossible ; God's will be done. I have performed 
my duty, and I devoutedly thank him for it." 

A wounded seaman was lying near him on a pallet, 
waiting for amputation, and in the bustle that prevailed, 
was hurt by some person passing by. Nelson, weak as 
he was, indignantly turned his head, and with his usual 
authority reprimanded the man for not having more 
humanity. 

A most spirited and continued fire was kept up from 
the Victory's starboard guns on the Redoubtable, for 
about fifteen minutes after Lord Nelson was wounded ; 
in which time Captain Adair and about eighteen sea- 
men and marines were killed, and Lieutenant Bligh, 
Mr. Palmer, midshipman, and twenty seamen and 
marines, were wounded by the musketry fire alone. The 
Redoubtable had been twice on fire in her fore chains 
and on the forecastle, and by throwing combustibles had 
fired the Victory. The alarm was given, which reached 
to the cockpit, yet neither hurry nor trepidation ap- 
peared ; and the crew having put out the flames, imme- 
diately turned their attention to the Redoubtable, and 
rendered her all the assistance in their power. 

When the firing from the Victory had in some meas- 
ure ceased, and the glorious result of the da^^ was ac- 
complished, Captain Hardy immediately visited his 
dying friend and chief. Taking the hand of the latter, 
he congratulated him on having gained a complete vic- 
tory, although he did not know how many of the enemy 
were captured, as it was impossible to perceive every 



200 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

ship distinctly. He was certain, however, of fourteen 
or fifteen having surrendered. 

''God be praised, Hardy," exclaimed Nelson, 
''although I bargained for twenty. Anchor, Hardy, 
anchor !" The delicacy of Hardy's position, from there 
being no captain of the fleet, was peculiarly embarrass- 
ing; and, with as much feeling as the subject would ad- 
mit of, he hinted at the command devolving on Ad- 
miral Collingwood, saying : "I suppose, my lord. Ad- 
miral Collingwood will now take upon himself the 
direction of affairs." 

"Not while I live, I hope. Hardy!" cried the dying 
chief; and at that moment tried ineffectually to raise 
himself from the bed. "No," he added, "do you an- 
chor. Hardy." 

The latter then said, "Shall we make the signal, sir?" 

"Yes," answered his lordship, "for if I live, I'll an- 
chor." 

The energetic manner in which he uttered these his 
last orders to Captain Hardy, accompanied by his ef- 
forts to raise himself, evinced his determination never 
to resign the command while he retained the exercise of 
his faculties, and that he expected Captain Hardy still 
to carry into effect the suggestions of his exalted mind ; 
a sense of his duty overcoming the pains of death. 

In about fifteen minutes after Captain Hardy said 
farewell to him. Nelson became speechless, and he 
breathed his last without a groan, thirty minutes past 
four o'clock. 

Lord Nelson's remains were conveyed to England 
and interred in St. Paul's Cathedral. They were placed 




201 



202 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



in the coffin presented to him by Captain Hallowell, 
and now rest in a sarcophagus of black marble,, imme- 
diately under the centre of the dome. 

All the honors which a grateful country could be- 
stow were heaped upon his memory. A magnificent 
monument was erected on a site in front of the National 
Gallery in London which was named Trafalgar Square, 
and surmounted by a statue of the hero. In the Grand 
Chamber at Windsor Castle is a portion of the fore- 
mast of Nelson's flagship, the Victory, through which 
a cannon ball passed at the battle of Trafalgar. The 
top is surmounted by a bust of the great admiral. 





THE BATTLE OF NAVAEINO 

(A. D. 1827) 
ENGLAND, FRANCE AND RUSSIA AGAINST TURKEY 

THE cause of this battle was the uprising of 
the Greeks against the iron rule of Tur- 
key and the brutal severities of their Moham- 
medan oppressors. The Patriarch of the Greek 
church at Constantinople was hanged before the 
doors of the sacred edifice; an act of wanton 
cruelty which was followed by a massacre of all 
the Greek clergy wherever they could be found. The 
clergy were thus driven to be the chief promoters of the 

203 



204 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

insurrection ; and the Greeks goaded to madness by op- 
pression, obtained several victories over the Turkish 
forces and compelled them to return to the chief towns 
and fortified places. Finally, England, France and 
Russia took up the cause of Greece. While negotiations 
for a peace were going on, a powerful fleet composed of 
Turkish and Egyptian ships, numbering ninety-two 
vessels appeared at Navarino in August, 1827, and 
found there an allied fleet under the chief command of 
Admiral Sir Edward Codrington ; the French and Rus- 
sian fleets being respectively commanded by Admiral 
de Rigny and Count Heiden. 

The Turkish commander-in-chief was informed of 
the negotiations then in progress, and was offered a 
safe conduct back, or permission to enter the harbor. If 
he accepted the latter alternative, he was assured that if 
any of his ships ventured out, they would be imme- 
diately driven back. Ibrahim Pasha accepted the terms 
and entered the harlx)r, but soon sought excuses for 
evasion. The second time a division of his ships sailed 
out, they were driven back by the English Admiral, 
Ibrahim then revenged himself by ravaging the coun- 
try, visiting it with desolation and blood. The distress 
of the inhabitants was shocking; women and children 
dying every moment of starvation. 

The allied admirals resolved to put a stop to this 
state of affairs, and to put an end to these ravages, en- 
tered the harbor with their ships and anchored among 
the thickest of the Turkish fleet. When Admiral Cod- 
rington's ship, the Asia passed in, Ibrahim sent a mes- 
sage saying that he had not given any permission to the 



296 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

allied fleet to enter the port. The English Admiral re- 
plied : "That he had not come to receive orders, but to 
give them ; that if any shot were fired at the allied fleet, 
that of the Turks would be destroyed, and that he 
would not be sorry should such an opportunity be given 
him!" 

No hostile shots were fired for some time, but the 
feeling on both sides was such that it required but a 
trivial event to fan the smouldering bitterness into 
flames, and an occasion soon occurred. A boat from 
the Dartmouth to one of the fireships was fired upon 
and in a short time a general engagement began. The 
Turkish Admiral sent word to Admiral Codrington 
that he would not fire, and the later sent a pilot to say 
. that he, too, wished to avoid bloodshed. On his way, 
the messenger was shot, and soon afterwards the Asia 
was fired upon. The Asia returned the fire and soon 
made a wreck of the Turkish flagship, but lost her own 
mizen mast, had some of her guns disabled, and quite 
a number of her crew killed and wounded. 

Then for four hours the battle lasted with unabated 
fury among the ships engaged. The Turks fought 
desperately, but one after another their vessels became 
disabled ; such of their crews as had escaped set them on 
fire; and then their burning and blackened fragments 
were blown into the lurid air. So many were the ex- 
plosions that it is wonderful how the allied ships es- 
caped destruction themselves. When the dense smoke 
cleared away, nothing remained of the Turkish and 
Egyptian fleets, with the exception of a few ships that 
has escaped into the inner harbor. The outer harbor 



THE BATTLE OF NAVARINO. 207 

was strewn with burning, shapeless hulls and floating 
fragments, mingled with blackened, mangled wretches 
clinging to wreckage to avoid a grave l^eneath the 
waters. 

The British ships were the chief sufferers in this 
action. Admiral Codrington's son was killed, and the 
Admiral himself had several remarkable escapes. A 
musket ball passed through the sleeve of his coat ; his 
watch was smashed by a splinter ; a cannon-ball just 
cleared his hand; he was twisted round several times; 
and his coat was torn in many places by splinters. The 
loss of the Turks was enormous ; six hundred and fifty 
being killed on the Turkish Admiral's ship alone ! 

As a result of the battle of Navarino, the independ- 
ence of Greece was virtually secured, but it presented 
the singular spectacle of an allied fleet gaining a great 
victory over the fleet of a po\ver with whom they were 
at least nominally on terms of peace. 




"MONITOR" AND '' MERRIMAC " 

(A. D. 1862) 
THE CIVIL WAR IX THE UNITED STATES 

THE world renowned battle between the Monitor 
and the Mcrrimac, occurred March 9, 1862. 
The Union fleet of wooden vessels, was sta- 
tioned in Hampton Roads and cowsisttd oi\h.Q Roan ok c , 
the Cumberland, the Minnesota, the St. Laz^'rcncc, and 
the Congress. The Confederates had raised and refitted 
the frigate Merrimac, converting her into an iron clad, 
bomb-proof vessel, and rechristened her the Virginia. 
The Merrimac when cut down was a most powerful 
engine of war ; having iron plated sides and being pro- 
vided with a powerful ram, and ten guns. About noon 
on the eighth of March, she steamed toward the Union 




The "Merrimac" Attacks and Burns the ** Congress." 

209 



210 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

fleet in Hampton Roads, their shot fahing harmlessly 
from her sides, and keeping steadily on rammed the 
Ciimhcrland which sank soon after with flag flying. 
The Mcrrimac now attacked the Congress, raking her, 
and fired broadside after broadside into her until, with 
over one hundred men killed, she hauled down her flag. 
During the night the Congress was burned to the water 
edge and sunk. 

The steamship Minnesota and the frigate St. Law- 
rence ran aground and in the evening of the same day 
the Merriniac steamed slowly towards the former as she 
lay helpless. The commander of the Merriniac wishing 
to take her without inflicting any very serious injury, 
shelled her from a distance, to which fire the Minnesota 
replied resolutely, setting fire to one of the steamers at- 
tending the ironclad. The Merriniac drew off at night- 
fall and waited for morning to finish the fleet. In the 
morning, however, there appeared between the Mcrri- 
mac and the Union fleet, a small ironclad which had 
just been completed in New York and towed to the 
Roads by a tug. 

The Monitor, as she was called, was built with her 
engines and machinery far under water and presenting 
only a low deck and a revolving turret above it. She 
was strongly armored and fitted with two Dahlgren 
guns carrying shot or shell weighing some one hundred 
and sixty-five pounds. Her actions were directed from 
the pilot house which was her commander's station. 

\Mien the Merriniac approached the Minnesota on 
the morning of March 9th, she encountered the little 
Monitor, which gave battle immediately, The Merri-r 



"MONITOR" AND "MERRIMAC." 



21J 



mac had been considerably damaged in her action the 
day before, but her officers felt perfectly able to over- 
come this puny antagonist. The Monitor opened fire 
at a hundred yards, the distance between the ironclads 
during the 
fight, rang- 
i n g from 
fifty to two 
hundred 
yards. The 
smaller ves- 
s e 1 proved 
easier to han- 
dle and ran 
all about her 
large foe, fir- 
ing into her 
on every turn 
and disabling 
her more and 
more with 
her two 
heavy guns 
mounted in 
the revolving 
turret. 

The Merrimac now attempted to ram, and five times 
the ironclads collided, but the Merrimac s ram, weak- 
ened in the fight of the day before, became useless and 
her engines insufficient to propel her with the necessary 
speed. Each time that the vessels struck one another, 




Rear-Admiral John C. Worden. 



212 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

one of the guns of the Monitor was discharged directly 
against the sides of the Mcrriuiac, and the latter replied 
by bringing her guns to bear on the turret and pilot- 
house of her adversary. 

The Monitor withdrew early in the afternoon owing 
to an injury to her commander's eyes, and then the 
Merrimac steamed away in the direction of Norfolk. 

The shot which disabled Lieutenant Worden, who 
commanded the Monitor on this eventful day, struck 
the pilot house close to the lookout slit through which 
he had been looking. The concussion knocked him 
senseless and filled his eyes with minute particles of 
iron rendering him blind for a time. Upon regaining 
consciousness his first words were : 

"Have I saved the Minnesota?" 

"Yes, and whipped the Merrimac," was the reply. 

"Then I don't care what becomes of me," was his 
rejoinder. 

He survived his injuries, however, and became a 
rear-admiral before his death, which occurred October 
i8, 1879. 

If the commander of the Monitor had not been 
wounded, he would have pursued the Confederate iron- 
clad and forced her to fight again or to surrender. As it 
w^as he saved the Minnesota. No one was killed during 
the engagement on either side. The Monitor received 
slight injuiries, but the Merrimac was badly damaged. 
The result of this battle was a radical change in build- 
ing warships, all over the world. 







5 

1 ; 


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rj 


P 


■piiT'if'iir- 


^^^ . ^' 1 


^M 







OPENING THE MISSISSIPPI 

(A. D. 1862) 
THE CIVIL WAR IX THE UNITED STATES 

IN 1 86 1, the Union Government decided to send an 
expedition against the city of New Orleans, then 
one of the most important points in the Confed- 
eracy. It was a movement of no small magnitnde for 
the defences of the city were considered formidable. 
Forts Jackson and St. Philip, twenty-five miles above 
the mouth of the Mississippi commanded the channel of 
the river, and in addition, a boom had been stretched 
across it to impede the progress of a hostile fleet. Above 
this obstruction was a fleet of gunboats improvised 



'Y\ Sii^ Kings. 



213 



214 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

from river steamers, and an iron-clad ram, the Manas- 
sas. Still farther up the river were the Chalmette bat- 
teries. 

Several months were consumed in preparing the ex- 
pedition which was both naval and military in charac- 
ter. When the naval force was finally assembled at 
Ship Island, it was found that there would be great dif- 
ficulty in crossing the bar at the mouth of the pass 
selected. It required three weeks to get the ships into 
the mouth of the river, eventually. Admiral, then Cap- 
tain David G. Farragut was the commander-in-chief; 
Commodore David D. Porter had charge of the mortar- 
vessels. When the armament was fairly in the river the 
channel was surveyed and protected and a portion of 
the fleet crept cautiously up the stream, disguising their 
presence as much as possible by attaching bushes to 
their masts and rigging. All being in readiness, the 
mortar- vessels commenced a furious bombardment on 
the forts. 

For six days a terrible fire was poured into the forts. 
Fort Jackson suffered especially. During this time the 
Confederates sent down a number of fire-barges, but 
they inflicted no damage whatever on the Union fleet ; 
on the contrary, by setting the wharves of Fort Jackson 
on fire they afiforded a light by which the Union gun- 
ners were able to increase the accuracy of their fire. 
The boom that impeded the progress of the Union fleet 
was destroyed sufficiently to allow the ships to pass 
through, and at two o'clock on the morning of April 24, 
1862, the squadron moved up the Mississippi in two 
columns. 



OPENING THE MISSISSIPPI. ?15 

Beacon-fires which the enemy had kindled on the 
shore, Hghted the way for the Union ships as they 
stemmed the rapid current of the great river. Farragut 




Admiral David G. Farragut. 

led the way in the Hartford under a terrible fire from 
the forts. A fire-raft was pushed against her, and for 
a moment the flag-ship seemed enveloped in flames. 



216 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

They were quickly extinguished, however; but soon 
she grounded upon a shoal. Backing off, she plied her 
guns so well that in a short time the fire of Fort St. 
Philip was nearly silenced. The Union line swept on, 
and soon met the Confederate fleet. The smoke from 
more than three hundred guns enveloped friend and foe; 
often the flash of opposing guns alone guided the fire. 

While yet under the fire of the forts, two Confeder- 
ate iron-clads appeared among the Union vessels. The 
Vanina was run down after taking or destroying a 
number of the enemy's ships. The achievements of 
Captain Boggs, her commander, were among the 
crowning glories of the eventful action. Her antag- 
onist, the Morgan, was so injured by the collision that 
she was forced to surrender, eventually. 

The Mississippi made for the Manassas, "full speed 
ahead," but the ram avoided the blow and glided by the 
Union vessel. Before she could turn, the Mississippi 
gave her a broadside that crashed through her mailed 
sides and swept away her smoke-stack. In a moment 
flames burst from her port-holes and from every rent 
in her hull ; then the water rushed in, and "like a huge 
animal, she gave a plunge and disappeared under the 
water." The Brooklyn rushed into the midst of the 
Confederate gun-boats, pounding them with shot and 
shell until there were no more of the enemy's ships to 
fight. Every commander in the Union fleet fought his 
ship like a hero and when morning dawned all had 
passed the forts and the Confederate flotilla had been 
nearly destroyed. 

Nothing remained to obstruct Farragut's progress up 




217 



218 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

the river except the Chahiiette batteries, and they were 
quickly disposed of. At New Orleans, steamers and 
cotton-ships were set on fire and then allowed to float 
down the stream. When the Union ships anchored in 
front of the city, black clouds of smoke were rising for 
miles along the levee ; the Confederates were burning 
their vast stores of cotton and destroying everything 
that could be of use to the invaders. The few troops 
that were stationed at New Orleans hastily decamped, 
leaving the city in thehandsofthecivil authorities. Cap- 
tain Bailey of the Cayuga went ashore and demanded 
the surrender of the city ; the inhabitants were inclined 
to be ugly, but the guns of the Union fleet were trained 
upon the city, and after a controversy between the 
Mayor and Farragut, a detachment of sailors and 
marines went on shore ; hauled down the flag of the 
Confederacy and flung the stars and stripes to the 
breeze. New Orleans had fallen and the Confederacy 
was split in two. 

Commodore Porter and his mortar-vessels remained 
below the forts when Farragut ran past them on April 
24, and on the same day sent them a summons to sur- 
render. This being refused, he pounded the fortifica- 
tions with his heavy shells on the 26th and the next day 
repeated his demand for surrender. By this time the 
garrisons had mutinied and Porter's terms were ac- 
cepted. While these were being discussed, the Confed- 
erate naval officers had the ram Louisiana towed to a 
point above the mortar-vessels and set on fire. They 
then turned her adrift with shotted guns with the ex- 
pectation that she would blow up wdien near Porter's 



OPENING THE MISSISSIPPI. 



219 



squadron. Porter regarded the act as unjustifiable, but 
continued the negotiations. When opposite Fort St. 
Phihp the ram blew up, but the only damage that was 
done on shore was to kill a Confederate soldier in the 
fort. Three Confederate gunboats were lying above 
the forts ; one was scuttled and the others surrendered 
without resistance. Porter sent the officers and crews 
north as prisoners, considering that he had been treach- 
erously dealt with in the matter of the Louisiana, and 
at last, the Confederate power in that region was 
broken. 





^KEARSARGE" AND "ALABAMA'^ 

(A. D. 18G4) 
THE CIVIL WAR IN THE UNITED STATES 

ROBABLY no single event during the Civil War 
brought more satisfaction to the Union side 
than the sinking of the Confederate priva- 
teer Alabama by the United States steam-sloop Kear- 
sarge. Although flying the flag of the Confederacy, the 
Alabama was in point of fact an English vessel, de- 
signed and built in England to prey upon the com- 
merce of the United States. She was fitted out by a 
large number of sympathizers with the Confederate 

220 



"KEARSARGE" AND "ALABAMA." 221 

cause, and was at first called the "290" to indicate the 
number of those who contributed to her equipment. 




Rear- Admiral John A. Winslow. 

She was armed with British guns and manned, for the 
most part, by British seamen and gunners. 

Raphael Semmes, the commander of the Alabama, 



222 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

was a brilliant and dashing officer. He joined his for- 
tunes to tho3e of the Confederacy and soon became the 
'^modern highwayman of the seas." The Alabama 
cruised in all waters; she stopped merchantmen in all 
seas, and from them obtained coal and supplies of every 
description. For more than two years she defied cap- 
ture, but on June 19, 1864, she met her fate at the hands 
of Captain John A. Winslow, commander of the Kcar- 
sarge. Years before, while both were officers in the 
United States Navy, Winslow and Semmes had been 
thrown together; the vessel on which Semmes was 
serving had been wrecked, and Winslow offered the 
hospitalities of his cabin and his wardrobe to his un- 
fortunate friend. 

Winslow chased the Alabama from sea to sea, from 
port to port until he found her in the harbor of Cher- 
bourg, France. He immediately blockaded her and 
Semmes was obliged to come out and fight or submit 
to the disgrace of being blockaded by a vessel a little 
inferior to his own in size and armament. He there- 
fore challenged Winslow to a duel between the two 
ships; Winslow, of course, accepted, and the action 
took place on Sunday morning, June 19, outside the 
line of French jurisdiction. 

All Cherbourg was confident that the victory would 
be with the Alabama : news of the approaching conflict 
was spread ; photographers set up their cameras on the 
cliffs, and a French frigate escorted the Confederate 
cruiser to the prescribed distance from the coast. An 
English yacht, the Dccrhound, owned by a man named 



224 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

Lancaster, also steamed out of the port, carrying a 
merry party to witness the combat. 

With his ship cleared for action, Winslow held out 
to sea for seven miles, then turned short and headed 
for the Alabama. Semmes began the firing, and let fly 
three broadsides at the Kcarsargc without receiving a 
shot in reply. Then Winslow began to pound the Ala- 
baiua with a deliberate fire. Every one of his shots was 
effective, and inflicted terrible damage to the ship that 
defiantly flew the ''stars and bars." Great rents ap- 
peared in her sides ; a single shot killed and wounded 
eighteen men and disabled a gun ; a shell exploded in 
her coal bunkers ; another nearly wrecked the engine 
room. As the Kcarsarges shells crashed through and 
through her, they strewed her decks with dead and 
dying; water poured into the jagged shot holes, and the 
once defiant cruiser fast began to sink. Semmc; 
turned her head to the shore, but she never reached it. 
Her fires were out ; her flag* was shot av/ay ; her im- 
placable enemy was between her and the land. 

When the Alabama showed a white flag, the Kcar- 
sargc' s fire ceased, and an officer from the Alabama 
came alongside in a boat saying that Captain Semmes 
had surrendered and that his ship was sinking. All ths 
boats that Winslow had were then lowered, but the 
Alabama sank before she could be reached. The boats 
of the Kcarsarge rescued as many of her crew as was 
possible, and hailed the Dccrhound, giving ic permission 
to assist in sa^n'ng the prisoners who were in the water. 
This was done, and Semmes was picked up in this way, 
making- his escape to England. 




IN MOBILE BAY 

(A. D. 1864) 
THE CIVIL WAR IN THE UNITED STATES 

AFTER his brilliant work in the Mississippi, Ad- 
miral Farragut sailed in his now famous flag- 
ship, Hartford, for New York, and when the 
vessel arrived at the navy yard, it was found that dur- 
ing her nineteen months of actual service, she had been 
struck two hundred and forty times by shot and shell. 
Honors and courtesies innumerable were showered 
upon Farragut during his stay in the East, but early in 

225 



22G SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

1864, he and his noble ship were back in the Gulf. On 
August 5, he attacked and passed the defenses of Mo- 
bile Bay and conquered the Confederate fleet. 

The action in Mobile Bay was not only the most bril- 
iant of Farragut's life, but it was the crowning achieve- 
ment of his naval career. The officers of the various 
ships insisted that it was unnecessary exposure for the 
Admiral to lead the line, and he yielded, giving the 
place of honor to the Brooklyn. 

The monitor Tccumsch, opened fire on Fort Morgan 
at a little before seven, on the morning of August 5, 
1864, and shortly afterward, the engagement became 
general. Three old sailors, who had been in every en- 
gagement of the Hartford, stood at the wheel of the 
flag-ship; Freeman, the trusty pilot, stood in the top. 
Farragut took a position in the main port rigging, 
where he could see all about him. As the smoke in- 
creased he ascended the rigging, step by step, until Cap- 
tain Drayton, fearing that a shock might precipitate 
him into the sea, sent Knowles, the signal quartermas- 
ter, to make his position more secure by passing a line 
around his body, and fastening it to the shrouds. 

The line swept on through torpedo-strewn waters ; 
there was a sudden upheaval and the Tccmnsch sank 
to the bottom, carrvins^ with her one hundred and thir- 
teen brave men, including Captain Craven, their gallant 
commander. Farragut gave the order to disregard the 
torpedoes and dashed on in the Hartford, while the 
other ships followed, believing that they were going to 
a noble death with their Commander-in-chief. While 
they were pouring broadsides into the works, the Con- 




Farrag'it Stood in the ISIain Port Rigging. 



227 



228 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

federate ram Tennessee bore down upon the fleet and 
made a dash at the flagship, but Farragut took no 
further notice of her than to return her fire. After an 
exchange of broadsides, and attempting to ram several 
Union vessels, the Tennessee returned to her anchor- 
age. 

The larger part of the Union fleet was at anchor 
when the Tennessee again made her appearance, and 
Farragut ordered his ships to attack her, "Not only 
with their guns, but bows on at full speed." Then 
began one of the fiercest naval combats on record. 
Again and again the Union ships drove their prows 
against the iron-clad, while the Hartford poured in a 
broadside, and rammed her as well, but still the Tennes- 
see was not harmed. It was Farragut's monitors that 
finished the ram. They pounded her with heavy shot, 
which carried away her steering apparatus and smoke- 
stack, and at last she showed a white flag and surren- 
dered. 

The battle of Mobile Bay was won, but at a fearful 
cost. Besides the number who were drowned on the 
Tecuniseh, fifty-two were killed and one hundred and 
seventy wounded on the other ships. After every bat- 
tle in which Farragut was engaged he issued an order 
to the fleet to return thanks to Almighty God for the 
victory, and he did not omit this in Mobile Bay. The 
Confederates blew up Fort Powell the night after the 
battle and Fort Gaines surrendered on the following 
day. Fort IMorgan refused to surrender, and on the 
2 1 St Farragut inflicted a terrible bombardment upon it, 
which resulted in its capitulation on the following day. 




Ihe Union Fleet in Mobile Bay. 
''Bowa on at Full Speed!" 



1 g Sea Kingi, 



229 




THE BATTLE OF LISSA 

(A. D. 1866) 
AUSTRIA AND ITALY 

THE battle of Lissa, the first general engagement 
between ironclad vessels of war, has been de- 
scribed by an eminent naval authority as, "be- 
yond all bounds the most important naval occurrence 
since Trafalgar." Lissa is an island in the Adriatic — a 
mass of hills and mountains — some eleven miles long 
by six broad. The fortifications on the island were 
in the hands of the Austrians. 

On July 1 8, 1866, the Italian Admiral Persano, w^ith 
a fleet of wooden ships and ironclads, opened fire on 

230 



THE BATTLE OF LISSA. 231 

the forts. A lively action followed and some of the 
forts were blown up by the Italian shells, but the Aus- 
lians defended their positions bravely. The action was 
resumed on the following day, but was without impor- 
tant results except the knocking to pieces of the Italian 
ship For mid able. Preparations were made for landing 
a party and carrying the place by assault on the follow- 
ing day but before this could be done the Austrian fleet 
under Admiral Tegetthoff appeared and an engage- 
ment between the fleets of the two nations took place. 

After standing towards the enemy for half an hour. 
■Persano formed a line of battle at right angles to the 
course on which the Austrians were advancing. 
Tegetthoff came on at full speed ; his seven ironclad 
ships, in a double oblique line in front, the Ferdinand 
Max leading. The charge of the Austrian squadron was 
brilliant ; it came on in good order and seemed to 
paralyze the faculties of the Italians. The flag of 
Persano was flying at the main of the Re d' Italia, but 
at this critical moment he transferred it to the Affonda- 
tore. This proceeding created much confusion in the 
Italian fleet and opened a gap in their line through 
which the Austrian ironclads passed in a compact mass. 

The Austrian ship Kaiser engaged the Re di Porto- 
gallo much her superior in every w^ay, but finding that 
her guns produced no impression on the ironclad's 
sides, resolved to ram her. The shock carried away 
her own stern and bowsprit ; her figure-head remained 
on the Re di Portogallo's quarter-deck; her foremast 
also went, sweeping away the funnel in its fall ; flames 
and smoke smothered the upper deck, and the ship, 



232 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



grinding alongside the ironclad, received her broad- 
sides at very close range. The Kaiser, accompanied by 




"Ram Everything Gray I" 

the Novara then passed through the rear of the Italian 
line, exchanging a heavy fire with the ships of that 




233 



234 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

division. Both suffered severely and eventually the 
Kaiser was obliged to withdraw from the fight. 

The Austrian ironclads were painted black, but their 
funnels were all differently colored, so that a glimpse 
through the smoke was sufficient to identify the ship. 
The Italians were all painted gray with no distinguish- 
ing marks. There was no choice of an enemy, and once 
again in the smoke, Tegetthoff's order was simple, 
''Ram everything gray !" Backwards and forwards 
the ships passed. The captain of the Draclie was 
killed ; and for a short time the command devolved 
upon a young ensign, \\'eyprecht, who afterwards won 
fame as the commander of an Arctic discovery ship 
named for the gallant Tegetthoff. Twice, in the 
smoke, the Ferdinand Max rammed a gray mass, but 
ineffectually, but a shell from one of her heavy guns 
burst in the Palestra's ward-room, and set her on fire. 
Suddenly, through the smoke, a gray mass was seen, 
and, ''full speed ahead," the Max started forward and 
struck an enemy's ship abreast the foremast, on the 
port side. As the Max backed out of the hole she had 
made the wounded ship rolled heavily to port, showing 
the deck and the terror-stricken crew to those on the 
Max, and then sank. From those who were rescued 
from the water, it was learned that the name of the 
Italian ship w^as the Re d' Italia. With this vessel sunk 
and the Palestro in flames the action was virtually at 
an end. The Italians were pushed out seaward and 
later, the Palestro blew up. 




THE BATTLE OF THE YALU 

(A. I). 1894) 
JAPAN AND CHINA 

URING hostilities between China and Japan in 
1894 their fleets met off the mouth of the 
Yalu River, on September 17. It was the 
first contest between modern iron-clad war ships 
armed with modern ordnance. The battle be- 
^an about noon, and the first shot was fired by 
the Chinese. From the first the Japanese had the best 
Not only was their fire more ef- 



D 



of the engagement 



235 



236 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



fective, but they manoeuvred more swiftly; a number 
of their ships being able to attack a single adversary at 
once v;hile the slower moving Chinese were looking en. 
Admiral Ting was in command of the Chinese fleet. 

The Chinese fought 
bravely, however, 
and although several 
of the Chinese com- 
manders skulked 
away after the action 
began, the remainder 
fought to the end. 
The Chill Y u c n 
was sunk, and then 
the Lai Yuen went 
down with the gun- 
ners at their posts. 
The Japanese fired 
at long range, not 
giving their adver- 
saries an opportu- 
nity to use their 
slower firing guns 
with much effect. 
The Chao Yung 
fought well 
against two J a p- 
anese ships, but eventually they sank her in shallow 
waters. The Yang Wei was disabled and forced to re- 
tire. The Japanese flag-ship, the Matsushinia, suffered 
severely and Admiral Ito removed his flag to the Hasi- 




Admiral Ting. 



THE BATTLE OF THE YALU. 



237 



date. The Hiyei was set on fire by the Chinese shells, 
but the flames were extinguished and her gallant cap- 
tain took her into action again after he had transferred 
his wounded to another vessel. When night fell, the 
Chinese ships re- 
treated, and went 
into port to repair 
damages. 

Among the Chin- 
ese naval officers was 
Commander Philo 
N. McGiffin, for- 
merly of the United 
States navy. He en- 
tered the service of 
China and became 
the head of the Chin- 
ese Naval Academy. 
At the battle of the 
Yalu, he command- 
ed the Chen Yuen, 
one of the largest 
warships in the 
Chinese fleet. His 
ship was fought that 
day in the way that 
an American naval 

officer is taught to fight. He stripped his ship for action 
and coolly faced the ordeal of the day, fighting like a 
hero under the great yellow flag of China. 




Admiral Ito. 



238 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



The Chen Yuen was in the hottest of the fight, and 
his ship was hit several hundred times by shot and 



m 



^ 




"The 'Chen Yuen' was Hit Several Hundred Times. 



shell. A shell burst in the fighting top and killed every 
man there. A gunner was aiming a piece when a shell 
took off his head ; a companion passed the body back, 



THE BATTLE OF THE YALU. 



239 



finished sighting the piece and fired it. A shot from 
one of her twelve-inch guns disa1)led a thirteen-inch 
gun on the Japanese flag-ship, exploded the powder on 




Tli 



Chen Yaeii'" at the Battle of the Yalu. 



deck, and killed and wounded more than one hundred 
men. 

Soon after the fight began, McGiffin found a lieuten- 



240 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

ant and a number of men skulking below. He tbrashed 
the officer and then ordered him and the men on deck, 
where they afterward fought well. McGiffin was 
wounded several times. On one occasion the explosion 
of a srun knocked him down and killed several of his 
men. At the same instant he was struck by a shot, and 
laid unconscious until revived by a stream of water 
from a gash in a hose. The muzzle of a big gun was 
moving into position for firing and to remain in his 
position was certain death. He flung himself from the 
place where he lay and fell eight feet to the deck be- 
low. Blood was pouring from his mouth as he called 
his men to carry him away. He recovered, and was 
fighting his ship again in a short time ; but soon he was 
nearly blinded by the discharge of one of the large guns 
near which he stood ; his clothing was set on fire and his 
hair and eyebrows burned off. His iron nerve enabled 
him to fight on after he had received forty wounds, and 
towards the last he was obliged to hold up one of his 
eyelids in order to see with that eye. Eventually, Mc- 
Giffin got his ship into dock, but his body was terribly 
shattered, and he never recovered from the wounds he 
received in the four or five hours he fought the Chen 
Yuen against the Japanese. After the w^ar McGiffin 
returned to the United States a mental and physical 
wreck, and his death soon followed. 



^^7. 




ADMIRAL GE(3RGE DEWEY 

(A. D. 1837-) 

GEORGE DEWEY was born at Montpelier, Ver- 
mont, December 26, 1837. ^is father was Dr. 
Julius Y. Dewey, who was descended from one 
Thomas Dewey, who emigrated from England to 
America in 1633 and settled in Dorchester, Massachu- 
setts. 

Dewey's mother died when he was about five years 
old, but the tender care of his remaining parent enabled 
him to pass a happy childhood with his brothers and a 
sister, Mary, who, later in his boyhood days became 
his almost constant companion. 

Many who were boys with Dewey have related anec- 

241 



242 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

dotes and incidents of his boyhood days, which go to 
show that he was a bright lad, full of mischief and 
always a leader among his playmates. 

The school which Dewey first attended was com- 
posed of a rather unruly set of boys, and he, with his 
love of fun a..d frolic was a ringleader in all kinds of 
mischief. One day a new teacher appeared and wrought 
a reformation in that school in a very short time. On 
the day after his arrival the boys started a rebellion and 
Dewey put himself forward as their champion when 
they were taken to task. He was not a bad boy by any 
means, but he was high spirited and very impatient of 
restraint. On this occasion, he informed the teacher 
that the boys were going ''to give him the best licking 
he ever had." He had met his match, however, and 
after a few minutes was obliged to own that he had 
been deservedly well thrashed. It appears to have been 
a turning point in the boy's life, for he became a studi- 
ous scholar and in after life thanked the teacher for 
performing his duty towards him. 

Dewe}^ entered the Naval Academv at Annapolis in 
1854, and at that time was described as "a slender, 
active fellow, with rather hiofh cheek bones and pierc- 
ing eyes." He graduated fifth in a class of sixty-five, 
and after a cruise abroad in the JV abash his final rating 
was the third in his class. 

Dewey was a passed-midshipman and enjoying a 
furlough at his A^ermont home when the Civil War 
broke out. He was immediately commissioned a lieu- 
tenant and ordered to the steam sloop Mississippi, Cap- 
tain Melancthon Smith. This vessel soon became a 



ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY. 



243 



part of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and 
Dewey's first experience in real war was under Ad- 
miral, then Captain, Farragut, during the expedition 
against the city of New Orleans. 

After the fall of New Orleans, the Mississippi per- 
formed various services up and down the river for 
which she was named and then took part in the move- 
ment against Port Hud- 
son on March 15, 1863, 
which was one of the hot- 
test naval fights of the 
w'ar. 

After the Mississippi 
grounded in the smoke 
and darkness of the night, 
she was in a terrible plight. 
Dr. James W. Kessler, who 
was Dewey's secretary at 
that time, and who was 
one of the survivors of 
that awful time, says : 

"The enemy's guns w^ere 
doing fearful execution, 

their shot going clear through the bulwarks. The men 
at the starboard guns worked them until nearly all the 
guns were shot from their carriages. Captain Smith, 
who, during the engagement, stood on the hurricane 
deck, aided by his executive officer, Lieutenant George 
Dewey, seeing that the greater num.ber of his officers 
and men would be killed or wounded if the unequal fight 
continued, and that in such case the vessel would fall in- 




Admiral George Dewey. 



244 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

to the hands of the Confederates, coolly gave the order 
for the abandonment and destruction of the ship. Lieu- 
tenant Dewey went to the lower decks, quietly giving 
the order to the crew to 'leave the ship.' At the same 
time he directed the proper officer to set a slow match 
to the magazines fore and aft. Captain Smith person- 
ally inspected the vessel so as not to leave a living man 
behind to go down with the ship. 

"The captain was the last man to leave the ship. 
Lieutenant Dewey, who had managed to get one of the 
small boats ashore with a load of wounded men, asked 
for volunteers to return for their commander. With 
a shout, the boat was manned and the captain was res- 
cued." 

After the loss of the Mississippi, Dewey was as- 
signed to the steam gun-boat Agarjam, and later, in 
the Colorado participated in the two attacks upon Fort 
Fisher. In 1865, Dewey was made a lieutenant-com- 
mander. His first service after the close of the Civil 
War was in the famous old Kcarsargc, and from there 
he went to the Colorado which was the flagship of the 
European Squadron. 

Dewey had a term of service at the Kittery Navy 
Yard, near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and another 
as an instructor at the Naval Academy, at Annapolis. 
He performed various special and routine duties both 
afloat and ashore, while gradually rising in rank, and 
commanded in succession the Narragansctt, the 
Dolphin, and the Pcusacola. In 1896 he had reached 
the grade of commodore. Late in 1897 he was ordered 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY. 245 

to command the Asiatic squadron, and raised his flag 
on the Olyinpia on January 3, 1898. 

War between the United States and Spain was de- 
clared April 25, 1898. Two days later, Commodore 
Dewey sailed to carry out his instructions to "capture 
or destroy" the Spanish fleet known to be in Philippine 
waters. On the night of April 30, his gray ships glided 
past the frowning batteries on the island of Corregidor 
at the entrance to Manila Bay, unchallenged save for a 
shell that shrieked over the Raleigh, followed by an- 
other that fell harmlessly beyond the fleet. As the sun 
swung above the horizon in all the splendor of a tropic 
morn but five miles separated the adventurous fleet 
from the city of Manila; below, and to the right lay 
the Spanish fleet. 



T 



THE BATTLE IN MANILA BAY 

(A. D. 1898.) 
THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN 

HE Spaniards fired the first gun of the battle from 
I a heavy battery in front of the city, as 
the fleet swept by with the American 
flag flying from each ship, on their way to 
engage the Spanish ships which had taken up a 
strong position in Cavite Bay under the guns of for- 
midable shore batteries. The Olympia led the w^ay, fol- 
lowed by the Baltimore, the Raleigh, the Petrel, the 

2 (J Sea Kings. 



246 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

Concord, and the Boston, in the order named, and, al- 
though again fired upon by the batteries on shore, no 
reply came from the grim fighting machines. It was 
the first time in many years that an American fleet had 
entered a foreign port on a hostile mission. A sub- 
marine mine threw a huge jet of water from the quiet 
waters of the bay, but still the fleet swept on, every 
heart on the ships keyed to its utmost tension. 

So filled with the spirit of battle were the various 
groups of men on the Olympia; so keen was the remem- 
brance of murdered comrades sleeping beneath the 
waters of Havana Bay, or in the quiet cemetery by its 
treacherous shore; so dominant in each heart was the 
desire to avenge those heroes, that all found vent in 
the cry that now rang out from every nook and cranny 
of the ship: ''Remember the Maine!" 

Then, in reply to Dewey's quiet, ''When you are 
ready, you may fire, Gridley," the guns of the flagship 
hurled their defiant messages. Never were guns bet- 
ter served, never was there more gallant foe to conquer. 
Dense, blinding clouds of smoke hung over the waters 
that separated the opposing squadrons and enveloped 
the ships themselves, as each joined in the fray. Lurid 
flashes alone, told the quarter from which death-deal- 
ing missiles came. Now, Spain's proud flagship bursts 
into flame. No one can live under the merciless hail of 
steel that sweeps her decks, for well have the Yankee 
gunners learned their murderous trade. The ship is 
doomed, and the Spanish Admiral abandons it and 
raises his flag on another. Not for long, however does 
his pennant float, for, shot through and through, flames 



248 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

bursting from every crevice in her sides and decks, the 
Isla dc Cuba shares the fate of the Rcina Cristina, 
and a boat takes Admiral Montojo to the friendly shel- 
ter of the shore. 

Back and forth, the .Vmerican ships pass and repass 
the Spanish fleet ; nearer and nearer they draw to the 
shore batteries. Their aim is precise; their gunnery 
magnificent. Out from the shore dart two torpedo- 
boats, those "hornets of the sea." No braver souls ever 
led a forlorn hope, than those who man these tiny craft. 
Scores of guns are trained on them as they veer here 
and there, seeking opportunity to inflict deadly harm. 
The shot-torn waters close over one ; her consort limps 
back and runs ashore, a battered wreck. 

Owing to the smoke from the guns it was impossible 
for Dewey to know the extent of the damage he had 
inflicted upon the Spaniards. He was thousands of 
miles from any point where he could obtain supplies of 
ammunition and coal, and like a prudent commander 
he now drew off his ships to ascertain how much am- 
munition each had in her magazines and what damages 
they had received. Incidentally, breakfast was served 
on the American ships. 

After the commanders of the ships comprising the 
squadron had reported to the commodore, it was found 
that not a man had been killed ! Several of the ships 
had been struck and the Baltimore reported eight men 
wounded by the explosion of some of her own ammuni- 
tion. The Boston had been twice on fire, but the flames 
had been quickly extinguished. 

'The Baltimore led what may be called the second 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY. 



249 



attack, the Olyuipia following. Again the American 
ships passed and repassed their foes, destroying every- 
thing at which they aimed. Then the smaller vessels 
of the fleet 
went closer in 
shore and fin- 
ished the work. 
B u r n i n 
masses a n d cv 
sunken wrecks 
now represent- 
ed the proud 
ships of Spain 
that had offer- 
ed such gallant 
battle in the 
earlier hours of 
that May morn- 
ing. 

Early in the 
afternoon, the 
signal, 
surrender, 
made by 
Spaniards 
the shore, 
mediately 

terward a boat's crew from the Petrel set fire to the 
Spanish ships that were not already in flames ; and 
still later in the day many small Spanish craft that had 




Olympia.' 



250 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

not taken part in the engagement fell into the hands 
of the Americans. 

Commodore Dewey's telegram to the Navy Depart- 
ment saying that he had destroyed the Spanish fleet 
and the navy yard at Cavite reached Washington on 
May 7, 1898. Rumors of the battle had previously 
been received by way of Madrid, but nothing definite 
was known. Upon receipt of the dispatch. President 
McKinley, through the Secretary of the Navy, sent a 
reply to Commodore Dewey thanking him in the name 
of the American people for his "splendid achievement 
and overwhelming victory." The President also in- 
formed Dewey that he had appointed him acting rear- 
admiral, and would recommend Congress to pass a vote 
of thanks ''as a foundation for further promotion." 
This was done, and by a joint resolution of both houses 
of Congress, the thanks of the nation were formally 
tendered to Dewey, and in due course of time he was 
promoted to the full rank of rear-admiral. 

After his great victory, Dewey blockaded the Bay 
of Manila, but made no attempt to capture the city. 
Reinforcements were sent to him and Major-General 
Wesley Merritt was given command of the land forces. 
Manila was at the mercy of the Americans, and early 
in August 1898, Rear- Admiral Dewey and General 
Merritt notified the Spanish commander-in-chief that 
operations against the city might be begun after forty- 
eight hours. Two days later, the surrender of the city 
was demanded, but the attack upon it was not made 
until four days later. The stars and stripes replaced 
the Spanish flag on August 13, 1898, and was saluted 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY. 



251 



by the guns of the fleet. In further recognition of the 
services of Rear-Admiral Dewey, Congress authorized 
the Secretary of the Navy to present him a sword of 
of honor; and bronze medals commemorating the vic- 
tory at Manila, to the officers and men who w^ere under 
Dewey's command on May i, 1898. The medals were 
struck and sent to each man in the fleet. The Ad- 





mh-al's medal was identical with the others, w^ith the 
exception of his own name engraved upon the edge. 
The sword, which was a most elaborate affair was not 
presented to him until his return to the United States. 
In December, 1898, Congress revived the grade and 
rank of x\dmiral and conferred it upon Rear-Admiral 
Dewey. 




THE BATTLE OFF SANTIAGO 

(A. D. 1898) 
THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN 



DISKING the brief war between the United States 
and Spain, in 1898, an American squadron 
was blockading the Spanish Admiral Cervera 
in the harbor of Santiago, on the southwest coast of the 
Island of Cuba. During the blockade it was deemed 
advisable to close, if possible, the entrance to the har- 
bor by sinking a ship in its narrowest part, and so 
prevent the Spanish fleet from coming out. The en- 
terprise was placed in the hands of Lieutenant Rich- 
mond P. Hobson, and while it was not successful, it af- 

252 




stripping the " Merrimac " for Her Last Voyage. 



253 



254 



SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 



forded him and his associates an opportunity for in- 
dividual daring and bravery that has never been sur- 
passed in the history of the navies of the world. 

The vessel selected was the collier Mcrriniac. From 
the hundreds of brave men who volunteered for the 
desperate undertaking, Hobson chose six; one more 
was added at the last minute, making eight in all. 

On the morning of 




June 3, 1898. a little be- 
fore two o'clock, the Mcr- 
riinac started on its last 
voyage. Behind her were 
the huge, pale shadows of 
the blockading fleet ; be- 
fore her, the high clififs 
marking the entrance to 
the bay, where death in 
the waves or death at the 
hands of the Spaniards 
awaited the fearless crew. 
More than two thousand 
tons of coal had been 
shovelled away to make 
room for the torpedoes 
which were to sink the ship, and with every man at his 
post the Mcrriinac headed straight in. 

Then came the firing. Guns flashed out first from 
one side of the harbor and then the other, from the big 
guns on the hills and from the Spanish ships in the har- 
bor. The steering gear of the Merrirnac broke, and 
only three of the torpedoes exploded when the button 



Lieut. Richmond P. Hobson. 



THE BATTLE OFF SANTIAGO. 



255 



was touched. A submarine mine tore a huge hole in 
the vessel's side, and as the tide drifted her around she 
slowly sank. The men were lying aft on the deck w^hile 
shells rained over their heads. When the water came 




Powell Patrolling the Mouth of the Harbor. 

up to the deck a catamaran which was attached to the 
boom floated, and all caught hold of the edges and 
clung on with only their heads above the water. 

Soon a launch drew near and a dozen rifles were 



256 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

leveled at them. "Don't shoot," shouted Hobson. ''Is 
there anyone there to receive the surrender of an Amer- 
ican officer?" After being pulled on board the launch 
Hobson and his crew were taken to the Rcina Mer- 
cedes, and later were turned over to the civil authori- 
ties and placed in confinement in Morro Castle. The 
heroism of the undertaking so impressed the Spanish 
Admiral Cervera, that he sent an officer under a flag of 
truce to the blockading squadron, to say that Hobson 
and his men were safe and well. Later, Hobson and 
his associates were exchanged for a lieutenant and 
fourteen non-commissioned officers and men. 

Naval Cadet Joseph W. Powell, of the flagship Neiv 
York, volunteered to take the ship's launch and a small 
crew, patrol the mouth of the harbor and attempt to 
rescue Hobson and his crew should any of them sur- 
vive after the Merriiiiac had l^een blown up. He went 
near enough to see one spar of the Merriinac sticking 
out of the water, but of course, was not al^le to rescue 
her crew. His feat was in many ways as heroic as that 
of Hobson's, being exposed to the fire of the batteries in 
broad daylight. 

On July 3, Admiral Cervera attempted to take four 
splendid cruisers and two torpedo-boat destroyers to 
sea ; and a running fight ensued, in which the Spanish 
fleet was destroyed. 

The Infanta Maria Teresa was the first ship sighted 
by the blockading squadron, which was commanded on 
that day by Commodore Winfie-d Scott Schley. Im- 
mediately behind the Teresa, which carried the flag of 
Admiral Cervera; came the Visca\a, the AUnirante 



258 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

Oquoido and the Cristobal Colon. The Pluton and 
Furor brought up the rear. All turned to the west- 
ward, closely pursued by the American ships. The 
orders of the Spanish admiral had been to concentrate 
the fire of the squadron on the Brooklvn, Commodore 
Schley s flag-ship; beheving her to be tlie fastest of the 
blockadmg ships; and soon a shot directed at her from 
the Teresa began the action. 

nft^T'^''''^ °/-'''°' ^"^ '''"" '"^'"^d upon the decks 

of he Spanish ships as the American squadron moved 

nshore and took up the pursuit. Nothing could with- 

ZSJ i f 1. '^ r^"'^ ^^'^'' *''^ flyi"? Spaniards, 
fire, headed for the shore and ran upon the beach. Soon 
the P,seoya and the Oquendo turned shoreward un- 
able to withstand the terrible fire of heavy gun ad 
rapid-fire batteries that was rained upon them" Scari'ed 
with shot, with gaping holes in their sides froifwhi h 
flames were bursting, three of Spain's proud cruiser" 
lay blackened wrecks upon the beach 

ing to Thake' off f"^'" "'' '"'^''"^ "'' '''''^^'^' ^^r 
mg to shake off her pursuers and gain the open sea 

w h thrr' *° ""'. n""' ^'-^''"y" headed her' off ^"d 
vvith the Texas and Oregon poured an iron hail into 
the doomed ship. She too, headed for the shore and ran 
aground, bows on. Then the merciless fire o h" 

sem tTn"l''''l' "c"' '"^^ ''°'''*^ °f the squadron w^ 
sent to pick up the Spanish survivors 

1 he Gloucester, a converted vacht, commanded bv 

Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright. did h." share o^ 



THE BATTLE OFF SANTIAGO. 



259 



the work that day. She riddled the Pluton and the 
Furor; sunk one of them and drove the other ashore 
where it soon blew up. The Gloucester picked up those 
of the crews who were in the water, and then sent a 
boat to the Teresa, in which Admiral Cervera escaped 
to the shore. Later, the Admiral was transferred to 
the Gloucester and was quartered in Lieutenant-Com- 
m a n d e r Wainwright's 
cabin. He had been 
wounded in the arm, and 
every attention was paid 
to his comfort. 

Tn the battle the Span- 
iards lost all their ships; 
about half of their number 
were killed or wounded 
and the remainder were 
made prisoners. The lat- 
ter wxre taken to the 
United States, and eventu- 
ally sent home to Spain. 
But one man was killed 
and one wounded, on the 
American ships. 

The fire of the American ships was marvelous ; noth- 
ing could live on the decks of the Spanish ships, and 
after the battle the American crews vied with each 
other in saving the unfortunate Spaniards. Captain 
Robley D. Evans, who commanded the lozva said: 
"My boat's crew worked manfully and succeeded in 
saving many of the wounded from the burning ship. 




Rear-Admiral W. S. Schley. 



260 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. 

One man, who will be recommended for promotion, 
clambered up the side of the Viscaya and saved three 
men from burning to death. The smaller magazines 
were exploding with magnificent cloud effects. The 
boats were coming alongside in a steady string, and 
willing hands were helping the lacerated Spanish offi- 
cers and sailors on to the lowas quarter-deck. All 
the Spaniards were absolutely without clothes. Some 
had their legs torn off by fragments of shells. Others 
were mutilated in every conceivable way." 

After the battle, Admiral Cervera said that he had 
peremptory orders to leave Santiago. 

'Tf I could have gotten by the Brooklyn, as I be- 
lieved we could, I could have gotten aw^ay. My orders 
to concentrate fire on the Brooklyn were carried out, 
but your ship has a charmed life, sir." turning to 
Commodore Schley. ''Aly career is ended, I shall go 
back to Spain to be killed or die in disgrace." 

"Admiral, you are a brave man," replied Commo- 
dore Schley, "and coming out as you did in the face of 
a superior force is but an exemplification of that brav- 
ery. Your country can but do you honor." 

"Ah, sailors are always gentlemen," returned Ad- 
miral Cervera, throwing his arms around the Commo- 
dore's neck. 

After the war Commodore Schley was promoted to 
the rank of Rear-Admiral, and was presented by the 
people of the United States with the costliest sword 
ever given to an offfcer of the United States Army or 
Navy. 



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YOUNG PEOPLE'S 
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By Edward S. Ellis, A. M. 



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